Arizona News Service
Arizona News Service is a multi-faceted Capitol news service that produces Arizona Capitol Times, Legislation On-Line Arizona (LOLA), Arizona Legislative Report, Yellow Sheet Report, AzLobbyists, Citizen Government Guide, Government Resource Directory, Book of Lobbyists, The Guide to the Legislature (The Green Book) and a host of other special publications and focus issues for the legislative, business and legal communities. ANS also hosts a number of events for the Capitol community including Best of the Capitol, Leaders of the Year in Public Policy, Meet the Candidates, Rock the Capitol: Meet the Freshmen, Morning Scoops and Capitol Roadshow.
Our History
Arizona News Service was founded by Ned Creighton in 1906, six years before Arizona became a state. The operation was run and expanded by his son Robert until 1970, when Robert’s son, also Ned, assumed control of the business.
During the first four decades, the elder Ned Creighton ran Arizona News Service out of various buildings in downtown Phoenix. In 1946, Robert Creighton convinced his father, who he had worked with during World War II, to jointly purchase a newspaper then called The Messenger, which was founded in 1900. They each chipped in $750 so they could buy the paper for $1,500.
In 1959, the name of the paper was changed from The Messenger to The Arizona Legislative Review to better reflect its content. During that time, the newspaper was largely a recital of bills in the Arizona Legislature and occasional news stories about Arizona politics. With the hiring of a reporter, the publication began to evolve in the late 1950s and 1960s. It started including more news stories and going beyond just functioning as a paper of record.
In 1982, The Arizona Legislative Review was renamed Arizona Capitol Times. During the early 1980s, Creighton’s wife Diana joined the newspaper. She read and rewrote short versions of Arizona Attorney General opinions and developed an old-photograph feature – Times Past – that continues today. It is one of the paper’s most popular features.
In 2005, Arizona News Service, which includes Arizona Capitol Times, was purchased by Minneapolis-based Dolan Media Company, Inc (later renamed The Dolan Company). And, in January 2016, The Dolan Company was purchased by GateHouse Media and was renamed BridgeTower Media.
