Athens Banner-Herald

Newspaper published in Athens, Georgia

The Athens Banner Herald is a daily newspaper in Athens, Georgia, USA, and owned by Gannett. The paper has a Sunday special and publishes online under the name Online Athens. It has been through a series of restructurings and mergers since 2000, culminating in its sale, along with several other papers, by Morris Communications to Gatehouse Media in August 2017. Since the merger of GateHouse Media and Gannett in November 2019, The Athens Banner Herald is now owned by Gannett.

The newspaper traces its history to the Southern Banner newspaper which began publishing on March 20, 1832. The paper's masthead and owners were unchanged until 1872, when it was sold and the masthead changed to North East Georgian and to Athens Weekly Georgian after sale, before returning to its original masthead in 1879. The title changed again with its merger with its rival the Southern Watchman to form the Athens Banner Watchman in 1882. It was owned and operated by T. L. Gantt. In 1889, the masthead became the Athens Weekly Banner for the weekly edition. This later became The Weekly Banner until the cessation of weekly editions in 1921. In 1902, the daily newspaper, then called the Athens Daily Banner, became the Athens Banner under the ownership of H. J. Rowe. It continued under this title until 1923 when it merged with the Athens Daily Herald to become the Banner Herald. This became the Athens Banner Herald in 1933.

The newspaper routinely wins awards in Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press competitions, including Story of the Year honors in 2002, 2004 and 2006.