Originally founded in 1833 by
John D. Defrees as the
Michigan Statesman and St. Joseph Chronicle, the paper's name was shortened to the
Michigan Statesman after it was purchased by
Henry Gilbert. The paper became the
Kalamazoo Gazette in 1837. In April 2010, the
Gazette announced it would pay $1,525,000 to the City of Kalamazoo to avoid lawsuits seeking $4 million in previously awarded tax breaks related to the 2002 expansion of their downtown Kalamazoo printing facility. The 2002 expansion cost the
Gazette $33 million, including $20 million in new equipment. The breaks were awarded on the condition that the
Gazette maintain 175 jobs related to the expansion until 2014. On November 2, 2011, the
Gazettes owners announced that the newspaper would limit home delivery to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays beginning February 2, 2012 as it made the transition to a digital-first news organization as part of the newly created MLive Media Group. In November, the
Gazette also confirmed 77 employees were issued layoff notices related to the reorganization while an unspecified number of employees were hired back by MLive. On February 2, 2012, the
Gazette moved into its new hub at 306 S. Kalamazoo Mall. The hub is an open-office environment and is also designed to accommodate community events. Printing facilities for the
Gazette were moved from Kalamazoo to MLive Media Group's printing facility in
Walker, Michigan in 2012 and are shared with
The Grand Rapids Press and
Muskegon Chronicle.
Publishers and editors, 1833-2011 In the early days of the paper, the publisher (owner) and editor were generally the same person. In the 1900s, those roles were commonly separate. A list of people who ran the paper from 1833 to 2011 flows (with year they began): ;Editor and publisher :1833 John D. Defrees (in White Pigeon) :1834 Henry Gilbert :1839 E. D. Burr :1841 Henry Gilbert :1846 Volney Hascall :1862
Joseph W. Mansur :1865-1869 Several ownership configurations, involving William Shakespeare, B.S. Gleason, Joseph Lomax, and Elijah J. Clark :1870 Andrew J. Shakespeare :1897 Edgar Bartlett :1898 T. B. Shoaff :1900 Frank Ford Rowe ==Awards==