Henley renamed the paper the Birmingham Sun and published it himself for the first six months, before selling it to Thomas McLaughlin and James Matthews, who again changed the name to The Jefferson Independent.
The Independent lasted for two years before it was bought by Willis Roberts and Frank M. Grace, who again changed the name, this time to The Weekly Iron Age.
With the addition of national and world news items from the Associated Press the Age reached a peak of success, ranking second only to The Atlanta Constitution in the Southern market in advertising dollars.
Another merger occurred in 1950 when the Age-Herald joined with the Scripps-Howard-owned Birmingham Post, which had grown to a large circulation since its founding in 1921 by Ed Leech.
Post-Herald photographer Tommy Langston's 1961 image of Ku Klux Klan members attacking Freedom Riders attracted national attention because it showed FBI informant Gary Thomas Rowe in the violent mob.
[2] In 1996, the News Company instigated a switch between the morning and evening publications, again creating a joint weekend edition (distributed on Saturdays).
Writer Clarke Stallworth held the distinction of writing the lead story for the front page of both the first and last editions of the Post-Herald.