The Post-Dispatch ’s identity was strongly tied to the Pulitzer name. There was a bust of Joseph Pulitzer by the elevator bank, and Pulitzer quotes wrought in brass on the marble walls of the entryway. A portion of Pulitzer’s retirement speech formed the Post-Dispatch editorial platform and appeared daily at the top of the editorial page. But in January 2005, with no heir willing to take over the Pulitzer Publishing Company, the family sold the company—and all of its 14 newspapers including the Post-Dispatch —to Davenport, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises for $1.46 billion. The purchase made Lee— with more than 50 daily papers—the fourth largest newspaper publisher in terms of papers owned and the seventh largest in terms of circulation. The Post-Dispatch became its largest paper. Lee’s papers served primarily mid-sized markets in the Midwest. [1] For the first time in its history, the Post-Dispatch would not be a locally owned family newspaper—it would be subsumed into a much larger company.

It was unclear what this would mean for the paper; some feared the aggressive cost-cutting and layoffs that characterized other corporate newspaper purchases. Post-Dispatch staffers were well aware that the Gannett Company, for example, had aggressively boosted profits in newspapers it had purchased. It did so mainly by cutting newsroom budgets—especially payroll, and even in some cases circulation. [2]

Lee formally took over in June 2005. On some levels, the transition was harmonious. Lee and Pulitzer shared a similar focus on local news. The Post-Dispatch had only three bureaus outside Missouri: two in neighboring Illinois, and one in Washington, DC. For other national and international news, it relied on wire reports or other newspapers. But Lee was also a well-known—and effective—cost-cutter, and within two months of taking over the Post-Dispatch , it launched its first round of buy-outs, or offers of early retirement, which were ultimately accepted by 41 newsroom employees. At the same time, the company oversaw a redesign of the paper that Pulitzer had mapped out before the sale. The new Post-Dispatch emphasized photos, graphics, bigger headlines, and shorter stories in an effort to compete with television and the Web for the attention of a time-starved audience. [3]

Not long afterwards, on November 4, 2005, the newspaper’s editor, Ellen Soeteber, stepped down. Though she did not criticize Lee’s priorities in her announcement, she cited concern over shrinking newsroom resources as a factor in her decision to leave. [4] She chose as her replacement longtime Managing Editor Arnie Robbins, who immediately began searching for his own replacement as managing editor. He found her in September 2006: Pam Maples , who had been an editor at the Dallas Morning News and brought online expertise and innovative zeal to the job. She had just concluded a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University.