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Brandon’s Forth Estate surfaced when the first Newspaper, ‘The Sun’ was offered for sale once per day. The first Publisher was 31-year-old Will J. White, who arrived in Brandon when it was mainly a Tent City.  
 
He had traveled by rail, steamboat and foot to Brandon from Exeter, Ontario. He was able to publish a four-page daily from a wood framed structure on Twelfth Street. The Daily Publication was suspended at one time, and was then re-published as a weekly, and Edited by Mr. C. H. Beaton.  
 
When Mr. White returned from Eastern Canada he had with him enough Capital to regain control of the Sun, which remained a weekly publication until Mr. White severed his connection with this Newspaper in 1897.  
 
Under the fourteen years of direction by Mr. White the Sun increased its circulation enough that its offices had to be moved to new premises on Eighth Street. In 1903 Mr. J. B. Whitehead purchased the majority of shares, and in 1911 obtained sole ownership of the paper.  
 
In 1905, Mr. Whitehead secured a building permit for a building at #24, 10th Street, which housed the Sun until it moved to its current  
location at 501 Rosser Avenue.  
 
For the next approximately ninety years the Whitehead Family controlled the paper, and in 1937 Mr. J. B. Whitehead turned over the paper to his son Ernest.  
 
The eldest son of Ernest was named Joseph, and he was responsible for much of the modernization of the plant and printing processes that took place in 1952.  
 
Lewis D. Whitehead took over from his father as editor and publisher in 1961.  
 
In December of 2001 its then owners, Thompson Newspapers sold their interests to FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Stern and Silver, both of Winnipeg, had founded this company. They were also partners in two large newsprint mills in Alberta and Ontario. They now also own the Free Press of Winnipeg, Canstar Community News, and Rosebud Publications.  
 
Note: On June 23rd 1986, Mr. Lewis D. Whitehead was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada. His Investiture occurred on November 12th 1986 and reads: As Publisher and editor of the Brandon Sun, he has provided outstanding editorial leadership to his community, and has proven to be a significant force in his city, his province and in the national newspaper industry.  
 
Note: David Lewis Whitehead was born on December 8th 1926 in Brandon, Mb. He died in Suffolk County, New York, U.S.A. on August 3rd 1996 he was 69 years old, and is buried in Brandon Cemetery.  
 
 
Source: Brandon a City by G. F. Barker  
 
http://www.cna-acj.ca/en/aboutnewspapers/history  
 
http://www.brandonsun.com/media_guide_2.php