Cowles Media Company
| Company type | Holding company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Founder | John Cowles Sr. and Gardner "Mike" Cowles Jr. |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Gardner Cowles Sr., Gardner "Mike" Cowles Jr., John Cowles Jr., Kingsley H. Murphy Jr. |
| Products | Newspaper, magazines, television stations |
| Brands |
|
| Divisions | Cowles Business Media Cowles Creative Publishing Cowles Enthusiast Media |
Cowles Media Company (/koʊlz/ KOHLZ) (1935–1998) was a newspaper, magazine and information publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The company operated Cowles Business Media, Cowles Creative Publishing, and Cowles Enthusiast Media units. Its flagship publication was the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Other papers owned by the company at one time were the Des Moines Register, the Buffalo Courier-Express, the Scottsdale Progress and the Rapid City Journal. The company also owned the Register and Tribune Syndicate.
The company traded as Cowles Magazines (1946–1965), and Cowles Communications, Inc. (1965–1971). From 1969 to 1971 Cowles Communications sold Family Circle and other publications, retaining five broadcasting stations, a travel magazine, and a marketing service. Look magazine (1937–1971) was published by an unrelated company known as Look, Inc. (1937–1945). In 1998, Cowles Media was acquired by The McClatchy Company and was absorbed into the larger company at that time and ceased.