The newspaper went through a series of name changes, ownership changes and mergers since its beginning. The most prominent of those were;
The Dispatch Democrat (est. 1860)
Ukiah Republican Press (est. 1876)
Redwood Journal (est. 1929)
Redwood Journal-Press Dispatch (consolidated 1949)
Ukiah Daily Journal (name changed 1954)
The Ukiah Daily Journal (name changed 2000)
Ben Cober purchased from Sa
m Ray a half interest in the Redwood Journal and the September 3, 1929, issue was the first one published under the partnership. Two years later Cober became sole owner, while the Journal was still a weekly newspaper. The Journal became a semiweekly, and for a brief time (1936-1939) was issued as a daily, except Sundays. Economic conditions compelled them to return to a semi-weekly schedule. Cober from Bonita Sanford and E. Thurston, and for a number of years the Dispatch Democrat was published weekly. On October 4, 1949, Mr. Cober closed negotiations for the purchase of the Ukiah Republican Press and in September 1949 all the newspapers were consolidated into the Redwood Journal-Press-Dispatch and published three times a week. On April 19, 1954 it was renamed the Ukiah Daily Journal and returned to five-days-a-week with Monday to Friday publication. In the late 1960s Cober sold the newspaper to Malcolm Glover of Ventura, California. Glover formed the Mendocino Publishing Company which owned other newspapers over the years. On September 4, 1977, the Ukiah Daily Journal's first Sunday edition was published. In 1984, Glover sold the newspaper, to the Donrey Media Group (renamed Stephens Media). In 1998, the newspaper became part of the California Newspaper Partnership, operated by MediaNews Group, Inc. This partnership currently includes The Willits News, The Hometown Shopper, Fort Bragg Advocate-News and the Mendocino Beacon. News stories from the Ukiah Daily Journal went online starting in 1998 and have since developed ukiahdailyjournal.com into the most visited web site for news and information on Ukiah and the surrounding area. In 2000, the Ukiah Daily Journal was renamed The Ukiah Daily Journal. Publisher Kevin McConnell added Saturday editions, in 2003, and The Ukiah Daily Journal was published seven days a week, until 2011 when Monday publication was discontinued in favor of morning publication Tuesday-Sunday.
