Mrs. Baxter mentions to Francine that the building that houses the Elwood City Times she works at was built in 1949 from brick and limestone. However, the series has no specific timeline in regards to dates in general since the characters do not age as the seasons pass in the series. Since the news building debuted in the Season 1 episode "Buster's New Friend" five years prior, the building would have been built in 1944.
"The Inquirer" newspaper journal that Catherine uses in reprisal to Francine's habit of taking embarrassing photos and having them published to "The Frensky Star" is a play on the weekly "National Enquirer" tabloid newspaper outlet.