Democrat & Chronicle

Gannett Building, May 2007, photo by DavidHowe

Location

55 Exchange Boulevard, Rochester NY, 14614

Phone

585 232 7100

Website

http://www.democratandchronicle.com

The Democrat and Chronicle (D&C) is Rochester's only daily newspaper and traces its roots back to 1833. It is owned by the Gannett Corporation.

Like many papers, the D&C currently faces a drop in circulation. In 2005, circulation for the daily edition was approximately 167,000, and Sunday circulation was around 225,000. There was also a standing dispute (resolved in 2008) between the D&C and its unions, who had been working without contract for more than 13 years.

Other publications related to the D&C are Rochester Insider, the glossy Rochester Magazine, Her Rochester for women, and the web-only Roc Men site.

12/2/08-Today's article has eliminated 59 jobs- 34 layoffs, 14 "voluntary separations" and closing 11 open positions.

The earliest history goes back to 1833, to a paper called 'The Balance' It's name later changed to the 'Daily Democrat' around 1840. That paper then merged with another local paper, 'Chronicle' in 1879, and was renamed the Democrat and Chronicle.

The paper was closely identified with the Whigs and then the Republican Party. That changed for a time as Frank Gannett bought the paper as a morning alternative to his own Rochester Times-Union in 1928 and soon thereafter threw its support to FDR. The editorial slant returned to the Republican point of view soon afterward until Gannett's death in 1957, at which time it moved to a non-partisan stance. There has been some criticism that the paper has been too tough on Republicans in the post-Watergate era.

Editorial operations were combined with the Times-Union in 1992, leading to the shuttering of the evening paper in 1997, the same year that new color presses were opened at Canal Ponds office park in Greece. Though Gannett moved its corporate headquarters from Rochester to Arlington, Va., in 1985, decisions about the Rochester operation continue to be made locally. A renovation of the main newsgathering and business offices at 55 Exchange Blvd., is set to wrap up in early 2006.

In the last few years they have dramatically cut their staff, which is evident in the quantity, and quality, of the articles in the paper. The stories are weak, with minimal research, and are consistently slanted for the suburban living parents with children. I don't blame the reporters though. I have heard many tales (second hand) of reporters getting told to 'wrap up a story', just as they were finally collecting some good information. - FarMcKon

The Democrat & Chronicle's website (www.democratandchronicle.com) was voted "Best Local Website" in City Newspaper's 'Best Of' Award in 2008.¹

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Discussion

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2007-11-30 18:48:52   The D & C is one of Rochester's most embarrassing attributes. As a non-native, it's one of the things I hate most about Rochester. Compares very unfavorably to the Buffalo News, which Buffalonians love to hate. I don't blame the staff, I blame management. —JasonHaremza

2008-09-06 12:06:59   I find the basic quality of the news reporting to be relatively acceptable... I just like a quick summary of what's going on locally, and unlike rnews.com and the other local TV sites, the D&C seems to believe in proofreading. However, wow, the website comments are abysmal. It ruins the experience for me. Don't get me wrong — I normally enjoy comments on websites, but somehow, the D&C attracts more than its fair share of idiots, morons, mouth-breathers, knuckle-draggers, and Budweiser-swillers.

Fortunately, I have free academic access to a paid version that has the comments moved to a separate page; curiously, it's paper-based, only updated once per day, and very fragmented (continued on page 9?! why?!). Plus, most of it seems to be a cross between a really bad recipes site, a non-searchable Craigslist, Yahoo Answers, and the Pennysaver. Some things benefit from a print version — I'd probably subscribe to 4Chan Monthly, just to avoid too much /b/ — but I'm not sure local news does. —RyanTucker

2008-09-15 20:07:17   a horrible rag sheet, the stories are poorly written and are almost always flawed. —JohnJoseph