PERSONNEL

Employees: 349 full-time; 50 part-time

Executive Staff: Steve Sullivan, president and publisher; Larry Rose, executive vice president and editor; Darrell Coleman, vice president/finance; Leslie Wendland, vice president/advertising; Dave Gossett, vice president/circulation & operations; Kristin Millet, vice president/human resources; Beverly Barnum, vice president/marketing & promotions; Deborah Fisher, managing editor; Nick Jimenez, editorial page editor.

AT A GLANCE

Circulation: The Corpus Christi Caller-Times is a daily, morning newspaper with circulation reaching 68,849 during the week (Monday through Saturday) and 90,571 on Sunday.

Page Count: 40-64 Monday - Saturday, 120 Sunday

Cost: 50 cents

Mission: The Caller-Times targets four vital groups around which to center the operation: readers, advertisers, the community and employees. These focal points shape the paper's goals for both present and future:

* Readers: Attract and retain more readers and increase reading frequency for a variety of Caller-Times products throughout an increasingly widening geographical area.

* Advertisers: Know our customers better than anyone else in the marketplace and have this information in a retrievable format, together with programs, products and services that best meet identified needs, and at the same time increase revenues.

* The Community: Inform, stimulate and interact with citizens and create a record of life's events. Set a progressive agenda for the city and its citizens and provide a daily catalyst for exchanging entertainment, ideas, debate as well as a community forum primarily by, but not limited to, print. Provide additional community resources through employee volunteers for long-term community development.

 

This may look like an ordinary newsroom, but it pumps out a phenomenal number of award-winning stories. The Caller-Times was named Best Newspaper in Texas by the Press Club of Dallas seven of the past eight years. In 1996 alone, the paper won 46 national, state and regional awards. Here, Mike Wallace, assistant metro editor (foreground), Libby Averyt, metro editor, and Tom Whitehurst, weekend/projects editor, work on one of the daily editions.

* Employees: Through high standards, provide the opportunity to grow, while providing a safe and satisfying work place that encourages personal development and advancement based on merit.

Competition: The Caller-Times competes locally with 24 AM and FM radio stations, eight television stations and several cable and satellite television companies. The Caller-Times is the market's only daily newspaper, competing with several rural community weekly or bi-weekly publications, two shoppers as well as various military publications in the area.

THE MARKET

Geographic Area: The Caller-Times covers an 11-county area, including the Corpus Christi metropolitan area.

Population: 56 percent Hispanic, 4 percent African-American; 40 percent Caucasian

Major Employers: Corpus Christi Independent School District, Corpus Christi Army Depot, City of Corpus Christi and HEB Food Stores

Attractions: Local hot spots in Corpus Christi include the Columbus Fleet, a Greyhound Race Track, the Texas State Aquarium, the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens, and the U.S.S. Lexington Museum on the Bay.

 

Caller-Times Editor Larry Rose, left, and Publisher Steve Sullivan lead a staff dedicated to maintaining strong ties with the communities they serve. They consider their newspaper's role as that of "invited guest." The newspaper's mission is to "enjoy daily interactive relationships with readers, advertisers and community leaders."

DISTINCTIONS

Awards: The Press Club of Dallas recognized the Corpus Christi Caller-Times as the Best Newspaper in Texas in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996. The paper won numerous awards in 1997, at the national and state level. Across the country, the paper netted awards for the Best in Business for Overall Excellence from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a special citation from the Education Writers Association. In Texas, the Caller-Times won awards from a number of organizations, including the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association, the Press Club of Dallas, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas State Teachers Association and the American Cancer Society.

Community Service: The Caller-Times sponsors community-
oriented and charitable events throughout the year. The Childrens' Christmas Appeal for clothing for needy kids, the Teacher Line and the paper's work with the United Way all make the Caller-Times a vital part of the community. The paper also supports organizations like the March of Dimes, the American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity, the Harbor Playhouse and the Corpus Christi Symphony.

MILESTONES

Jan. 21, 1883 ­ The Corpus Christi Caller prints its first edition.

1917 ­ W.E. Pope buys the Corpus Christi Democrat, established in 1911, and changes the name to the Corpus Christi Times.

Sept. 14, 1919 ­ A major hurricane destroys the newspaper's files and puts most equipment out of commission. For several days after the storm, the Caller prints a one-page paper, set in type by hand, all on a hand-operated proof-press.

Nov. 13, 1929 ­ Houston Harte and Bernard Hanks establish the Caller-Times Publishing Company, merging the two papers into one operation.

1929 ­ The Times moves in with the Caller at 405 Mesquite.

1933 ­ Special edition of the Caller-Times reports a total of 42 employees with a payroll of $73,500.

Oct. 19, 1935 ­ The Corpus Christi Caller-Times moves into a new $75,000 building at 820 Lower North Broadway.

1941 ­ Three press units are bought from the Goss Company, weighing 15 tons per unit "stripped down." The traditional "hot metal" operation uses purely mechanical equipment to produce printing surfaces from molten lead.

1948 ­ The Caller-Times plant expands with two more press units bought from a Chicago publishing firm.

1952 ­ The Caller-Times building doubles in size, the second time in four years, to accommodate three press units from the Tacoma Times in Washington state.

Oct. 26, 1955 ­ The Corpus Christi Times is the first South Texas newspaper to publish a color AP wirephoto, a photo of President Eisenhower after his heart attack.

1958 ­ Ten new Goss Headliner presses are added, enabling the newspapers to publish two complete duplicate editions of 80 pages each in a single press operation with a top speed of 60,000 copies per hour. The Caller-Times has 405 employees and an annual payroll of $1,670,000.

Feb. 1, 1969 ­ The Saturday Times is discontinued and the first combined Saturday Caller-Times makes its appearance.

1970s ­ The Goss press is converted to dilitho (direct lithography), which uses offset plates rather than lead plates.

1973 ­ The Corpus Christi Times is redesigned. It is redesigned again in 1975, 1983 and 1984.

Dec. 13, 1980 ­ The first fire to ever cripple the press breaks out in the pressroom. The Victoria Advocate, 90 miles away, permits the Caller-Times to use its facilities to print the Sunday paper. Seven of the press units are repaired in time to print Monday's paper.

Aug. 27, 1984 ­ The Caller-Times is produced in a new design, with new headline and text typefaces, with new graphic designs, all on a new computer system and typesetting equipment.

May 29, 1987 ­ The Corpus Christi Times publishes its last afternoon edition.

June 1, 1987 ­ The first edition of the new combined morning newspaper, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, rolls out.

1989 ­ Caller-Times wins the Best Newspaper in Texas award in statewide competition sponsored by the Press Club of Dallas. The Caller-Times wins the award again in 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996.

Jan. 11, 1993 ­ The Caller-Times breaks ground on a $10 million building and press expansion.

July 11, 1994 ­ The new Goss Metroliner offset press rolls out its first edition. The press has nine units; it can run at speeds up to 70,000 papers per hour.

Aug. 14, 1994 ­ The Caller-Times is redesigned.

May 19, 1997 ­ The Caller-Times is acquired by The E.W. Scripps Company, along with 32 other Harte-Hanks media outlets, in Scripps' biggest buy in company history.