Published: April 08, 2009 10:20 am      

Northern Michigan's Daily Newspaper

The Traverse City Record-Eagle is a daily morning newspaper that circulates in 13 counties in northwest Lower Michigan.

Its circulation is more than 29,000 Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, it distributes 40,000+ newspapers through a region that includes Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Otsego and Wexford counties, and limited portions of neighboring counties.

The Record-Eagle also publishes a variety of other publications including a monthly real estate guide and many specialty sections throughout the year.

The Grand Traverse region is an area of deep green woods, sparkling blue-green lakes, miles of sandy Lake Michigan shoreline and thriving communities that base their economies on a mixture of tourism, service and industry.

Tourism is an important part of the local economy. People come to the area in the summer to enjoy the woods and beaches, in fall for color foliage tours and deer hunting, in winter for downhill and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling, and in spring for morel mushroom hunting. The region's attractions include Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Interlochen Center for the Arts, several lighthouses and the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve. People flock to the area's many ski areas, golf courses, tall sailing ships and hiking trails.

Automotive-related manufacturing contributes heavily to the area's economy, as do production of cherries, apples, frozen foods, wine and plastic products.

The Record-Eagle is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc., a parent company for daily, weekly and semiweekly newspapers published in more than 200 communities throughout the United States.

History of the Record-Eagle
On November 3, 1858, Morgan Bates published the first edition of the Grand Traverse Herald, a weekly paper proud of its stance against slavery and balanced reporting of local and national issues. That first paper primarily served Traverse City, an outpost in northern Michigan's wilderness. Since those early beginnings we have grown to become the largest and dominant source of news and advertising information for the 13 counties of northwest lower Michigan. Throughout the years the newspaper has evolved to meet the increasing needs of its readers and advertisers.

Traditionally, the Record-Eagle served a five-county region surrounding Traverse City. In 1989, as the area was on the brink of another growth spurt, we introduced the Sunday Record-Eagle and began circulation to an additional eight counties encompassing all of northwest Michigan. The response was overwhelming, resulting in a current Sunday Record-Eagle readership of more than 100,000 people.

Throughout the changes that have occurred in recent years, the Record-Eagle has remained steadfast to its mission. We deliver to the people of these communities significant news affecting their daily lives. We feature in-depth news reports of key local and regional issues; stories on regional business trends; complete sports coverage; specialty reports on schools, health and higher education; and lifestyle reports chronicling everything from area entertainment events to local social trends.

In short, we report on aspects of hometown life important to our readers while providing merchants large and small with an efficient vehicle to promote their goods and services.

Only the Record-Eagle can provide the reach and response in our market area. This is why the Record-Eagle is the preferred medium for advertisers in reaching our market — and it's been that way for nearly 150 years.