The Brunswick News Archive

In June 1901, Brunswick Times-Call Editor Arthur H. Leavy left his position to establish a new daily morning newspaper, the Brunswick Daily News. The eight-page paper began publication on September 23, 1901, under the management of Leavy, with brother Louis J. Leavy Jr. serving as city editor. As was the case with most Georgia newspapers in the early twentieth century, the Brunswick News endorsed Democratic Party policies and candidates. The competing Brunswick Times-Call suspended publication in January 1902 and sold its holdings to the newly retitled Brunswick News. As a result, the Brunswick News was the only remaining newspaper published in the city and assumed the role of Glynn County's official organ. Clarence H. Leavy left the Atlanta Constitution in April 1902 to join his brothers at the News as editor of the paper.

Brunswick is home to one of the earliest established ports in the United States, and the Brunswick Times reported on the maritime commercial affairs of the city and shipping activities at the Port of Brunswick. The publication also notably covered the news of what is often referred to as the Golden Isles of Georgia, including nearby barrier islands St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. The latter was home to the Jekyll Island Club, which served as a winter retreat for the wealthy. Club members who received news coverage for their visits included J. P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, and Joseph Pulitzer. The Club is also famously the site of a secret meeting in 1910 that led to the creation of the Federal Reserve System.

Between June 1903 and September 1906, the paper circulated as the Brunswick Daily News before permanently reverting to the original Brunswick News title. By November 1903, Arthur Leavy left his position as manager of the paper, and for the next 40 years, brothers Clarence and Louis Leavy worked together to run the paper as the editor and city editor, respectively. During this period, the Leavys maintained the unique practice of only running national stories on the front page of the paper and saved local stories for the back pages of each issue, a practice that continued through the remainder of the century. The Brunswick News maintained daily publication (except Mondays) during this period with little sustained competition.

Throughout its history, the Brunswick News has remained a family-owned-and-operated business. Louis Leavy and Clarence H. Leavy Jr. took over management of the paper after the death of Clarence Leavy in 1946. Clarence H. "Howard" Leavy III in turn became president and editor of the paper in 1983 after the death of his father. His sons, President C. H. "Buff" Leavy IV and Executive Vice President C. Vance Leavy, were the fourth generation to manage the award-winning Brunswick News after the retirement of their father in 1999 and oversaw the computerization and colorization of the paper. The Brunswick News continues daily publication under Leavy family ownership as the paper of record for Glynn County.