The Hattiesburg American was founded in 1897 as a weekly newspaper known as the Hattiesburg Progress. In 1907, it was acquired by and became The Hattiesburg Daily News. Because of the U.S.’s entry into World War I, it was renamed the Hattiesburg American in 1917. The Harmon family bought the paper during the 1920s. It was sold to the Hederman family in 1960. The Hederman family kept it for more than 20 years until the Hattiesburg American was acquired by Gannett in 1982. HattiesburgAmerican.com was launched Dec. 1, 2000. Today, the Hattiesburg American serves Forrest, Lamar and surrounding counties, providing local news and information through several different channels including the daily newspaper, website, mobile and tablet apps, quarterly publications and magazines.