Advocate Historical Archive

Today's Advocate traces its publishing history back to The Democratic Advocate, a newspaper founded in 1842 with an agenda of defeating the local candidates of the rival Whig political party. The newspaper scene was in constant flux during the period of the Civil War, with newspapers, and editors in transition. The Louisiana Capitolian appeared in 1868, and soon merged with the re-named Weekly Advocate. By 1889 the Advocate was being published daily, and in 1904 a new owner, William Hamilton, renamed it The Baton Rouge Times, and the paper became The State-Times. The newly formed Capital City Press owned by Manship and Edmonds purchased the State-Times in 1909. John Georges, who took over a small family company and transformed it into a billion-dollar business, completed a deal May 7, 2013 to buy The Advocate. “The Advocate is a strong brand with dedicated employees and a supportive community,” Georges said. “In addition to one of the newest and most state-of-the-art print production facilities in the industry, The Advocate has impressive digital capabilities. Together, these components ensure The Advocate will thrive for a long time to come.”