| The Beaumont Enterprise | |
| Type: | Daily newspaper |
| Format: | Broadsheet |
| Foundation: | 1880 |
| Owners: | Hearst Communications |
| Founder: | John W. Leonard |
| Publisher: | Jeff Bergin |
| Editor: | Kaitlin Bain |
| Circulation: | 5,925 |
| Circulation Date: | 2023 |
| Circulation Ref: | [1] |
| Headquarters: | 380 Main Street Beaumont, TX 77701 United States |
| Website: | beaumontenterprise.com |
The Beaumont Enterprise is a newspaper of Hearst Communications, headquartered in Beaumont, Texas.[2] It has been in operation since 1880.
John W. Leonard founded the initial Enterprise as a weekly newspaper in 1880.[3] It became a daily under editor W.W. McLeod in 1896 or 1897, to compete with crosstown rival Beaumont Journal[4] (founded 1889).
In 1907, William P. Hobby became manager and part owner of the Enterprise [5] and bought the paper outright in 1920,[6] while Governor of Texas. One of his co-owners was general manager/associate publisher James Mapes.[7] According to the Texas State Historical Association, the Enterprise "attained national stature" under Mapes' leadership — He came to the newspaper in 1908 and rose to ownership by 1931.
In 1918, Waco-based newspapermen Charles E. Marsh and E.S. Fentress purchased the crosstown competitor Beaumont Journal. Buying two other nearby papers (the weekly Port Arthur News[8] and the daily Orange Leader), the pair boosted the Journal circulation and eventually Hobby bought the Journal.[9]
Jefferson-Pilot bought the Enterprise and Journal in 1970.[10] Operating separately under the same company for many years, the Enterprise and Journal merged in 1983.[11] The Hearst Corporation acquired the Enterprise from the Jefferson-Pilot insurance company's publications arm in 1984.[12] [13]