The Sunbury News was founded in 1873 by a small group of men and was named The Enterprise. It operated for only nine months under editor D.M. Pyle before it was sold to Wayman Perfect, who renamed it The Spectator. In 1876, Perfect sold the paper to John S. Watson, who sold out completely three years later.

Records show only a few months passed without a newspaper in Sunbury. A copy of The Sunbury Monitor, marked Number 43, was found in the News office, indicating it ran for a couple months. Dated Jan. 21, 1881, it was published by G.K. Sharpe.

Also found in the office was a paper printed with the name that remains today, The Sunbury News, dated 1893. First printed by Reed Letts and Frank Whittier, a gentleman by the name of M.D. Cring became editor in 1894. Letts and Whittier remained printers, however.

Two years later, Cring sold his interest to Letts and Whittier who published the paper until the early 1900's when they sold it to Fred Baker and Don Crawford.

After a series of owners, publishers, and editors, the paper fell into the hands of the Whitney family, where it remained for the next 78 years.

Oatfield W. Whitney became sole owner and editor of the News when he bought out Baker's interest in April of 1916, and Crawford's in 1919.

In 1923, Whitney's son, Bill, joined the business and became editor and publisher in 1949. He remained editor until his death in 1970 when his widow, Marian Whitney, then ran the paper. After they married in 1935, Marian worked at the newspaper and helped Bill run the paper.

In February of 1972, Marian sold the paper to her son, John Greene Whitney, and son-in-law, John Francis Brehm (Jack).

The two men worked together until Brehm's death in 1982, leaving John as editor. Brehm's wife, Polly, who also worked at the paper, sold her half of the inheritance to John.

In 1994, John sold his interest in the paper to The Delaware Gazette, but still serves as newspaper advisor and holds the title of publisher emeritus.

In June of 2004 The Sunbury News and The Delaware Gazette were sold to Brown Publishing Company of Cincinnati.

Brown Publishing was founded in 1920 and has grown to be one of the largest independent family-owned newspaper publishing companies in Ohio. Originally founded with one weekly newspaper, the Company has expanded to publish 15 daily newspapers, 15 paid weekly newspapers, 14 Total Market Coverage ("TMC") newspapers, and 15 TMC shoppers. On a weekly basis, Brown products now reach over 1.6 million people and 680,000 households in 24 counties in Ohio. The Company's newspapers are located in the south and west of the state, primarily in rural and suburban markets.