Everything about The Chicago Tribune totally explained
The
Chicago Tribune is a major daily
newspaper based in
Chicago,
Illinois and owned by the
Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (for which WGN radio and television is named), it remains the principal daily newspaper of the
Chicago metropolitan region and the
Midwestern
United States and is currently the 5th largest newspaper in America by circulation.
On April 2, 2007, the
Tribune announced a buy-out plan worth $8.2 billion. It will be associated with a stock buy back at $34 per share, and an Employees Stock Ownership Plan. The person who will be the new Chairman is Chicago real estate magnate
Sam Zell. Also as part of the deal the
Chicago Cubs, and their park,
Wrigley Field will be sold after the 2007 season, as well as the
Tribune's share of
Comcast SportsNetChicago.
History
The
Tribune was founded by
James Kelly,
John E. Wheeler, and
Joseph K.C. Forrest, publishing its first edition on
June 10,
1847. The paper saw numerous changes in ownership and editorship over the next eight years. Initially, the
Tribune wasn't politically affiliated but tended to support either the
Whig or
Free Soil parties against the
Democrats in elections . By late 1853 it was frequently running
xenophobic editorials that criticized foreigners and
Roman Catholics . About this time it also became a strong proponent of
temperance . However
nativist its editorials may have been, it wasn't until
February 10,
1855 that the
Tribune formally affiliated itself with the nativist American or
Know Nothing party, whose candidate
Levi Boone was elected Chicago mayor the following month .
By about 1854, part-owner Capt. J. D. Webster, later General Webster and chief of staff at the
Battle of Shiloh, and Dr. C. H. Ray of
Galena, Illinois through
Horace Greeley convinced
Joseph Medill of
Cleveland's
Leader to become managing editor. Ray became editor-in-chief, Medill became the managing editor, and
Alfred Cowles, Sr., brother of
Edwin Cowles, initially was the bookkeeper. Each purchased one third of the
Tribune. Under their leadership the
Tribune distanced itself from the Know Nothings and became the main Chicago organ of the
Republican Party . However, the paper continued to print anti-Catholic and anti-Irish editorials . The
Tribune absorbed three other Chicago publications under the new editors: the
Free West in 1855, the
Democratic Press in 1858, and the
Chicago Democrat in 1861, whose editor,
John Wentworth, left his position to become Chicago Mayor. Between 1858 and 1860, the paper was known as the
Chicago Press & Tribune. After November 1860 it became the
Chicago Daily Tribune . Before and during the
American Civil War, the new editors pushed an
abolitionist agenda and strongly supported
Abraham Lincoln, whom Medill helped secure the Presidency in 1860. The paper remained a force in Republican politics for years afterwards.
In 1861 the
Tribune published new lyrics for the song "
John Brown's Body" by
William W. Patton, rivaling
the ones published two months later by
Julia Ward Howe. Medill served as mayor of Chicago for one term after the
Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Under the 20th century editorship of Colonel
Robert R. McCormick the paper was strongly
isolationist and actively biased in its coverage of political news and social trends, calling itself "The American Paper for Americans," excoriating the
Democrats and the
New Deal, resolutely disdainful of the British and French, and greatly enthusiastic for
Chiang Kai-shek and Sen.
Joseph McCarthy. When McCormick took over as co-editor (with his cousin Joseph Patterson) in 1910, the Tribune was the 3rd best selling paper among Chicago's eight dailies, with a circulation of only 188,000 . The young cousins added features such as advice columns and homegrown comic strips like "Little Orphan Annie" and "Moon Mullins", then turned to "crusades", with their first success coming with the ouster of the Republican political boss of Illinois, Senator William Loring ). It has endorsed Democrats for lesser offices, including recent endorsements of
Bill Foster,
Barack Obama for the
Senate and Democrat
Melissa Bean, who defeated
Philip Crane, the
House of Representatives' longest-serving Republican. The
Tribune also reported on the scandals surrounding Illinois governor
George Ryan (a Republican) during Ryan's previous term as Secretary of State. The Tribune endorsed Ryan for Governor despite this reporting.
The
Tribune has remained economically conservative, being widely skeptical of increasing the minimum wage and entitlement spending. Although the
Tribune has criticized the Bush administration's record on civil liberties, the environment, and many portions of its foreign policy, it still supports his presidency while taking Democrats, such as Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich, to task and calling for their removal from office.
Tribune Company
The
Chicago Tribune is the founding business unit of
Tribune Company, which includes many newspapers and television stations around the country. In Chicago, Tribune owns the
WGN radio station (720 AM) and
WGN-TV (Channel 9). Tribune Company also owns the
Los Angeles Times -- which displaced the Tribune as the company's largest property -- and the
Chicago Cubs baseball team. The Cubs will be sold sometime during 2008.
Tribune Company owned
The New York Daily News from its 1919 founding until its 1991 sale to Robert Maxwell. The founder of the
News, Capt.
Joseph Patterson and Col. McCormick, were both descendants of Medill. Both were also enthusiasts of
simplified spelling, another hallmark of their papers for many years.
Since 1925, the
Chicago Tribune has been housed in the
Tribune Tower on North
Michigan Avenue on the
Magnificent Mile. The building is
neo-Gothic in style, and the design was the winner of an international competition hosted by the
Tribune.
Columnists
Further Information
Get more info on 'The Chicago Tribune'.
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