The Sunbury Daily (founded 1872) and The Evening Item (1893) merged July 1, 1936. Publishing five afternoons per week, The Daily Item was owned by the Dewart family and other local investors until April 15, 1970, when Ottaway Community Newspapers purchased it. Ottaway streamlined and upgraded the newspaper. It built new presses in 1979 and introduced Saturday and Sunday morning editions in the late 1980s. In 2001, the paper bought The Danville News.[1]