Chicago American

The ''Chicago American'' was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974.

History

The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as '' Hearst's Chicago American''. It became the ''Morning American'' in 1902 with the appearance of an afternoon edition. The morning and Sunday papers were renamed as the ''Examiner'' in 1904. James Keeley bought the ''Chicago Record-Herald'' and '' Chicago Inter-Ocean'' in 1914, merging them into a single newspaper known as the ''Herald''. William Randolph Hearst purchased the paper from Keeley in 1918.

Distribution of the ''Herald Examiner'' after 1918 was controlled by gangsters. Dion O'Banion, Vincent Drucci, Hymie Weiss and Bugs Moran first sold the ''Tribune''. They were then recruited by Moses Annenberg, who offered more money to sell the ''Examiner'', later the ''Herald-Examiner''. This "selling" consisted of pressuring stores and news dealers. In 1939, Annenberg was sentenced to three years in prison for fraud and died behind bars.

The newspaper joined the Associated Press on October 31, 1932.

Under pressure from his lenders, Hearst consolidated the ''American'' and the ''Herald-Examiner'' in 1939. It continued as the ''Chicago Herald-American'' until 1953 when it became the ''Chicago American''. The ''American'' was bought by the ''Chicago Tribune'' in 1956, and was renamed as ''Chicago's American'' in 1959.

As with many other afternoon dailies, the paper suffered in postwar years from declining circulation figures caused in part by television news and in part by population shifts from city to suburbs. The paper continued as an afternoon broadsheet until 1969 when the ''Tribune'' converted the paper to the tabloid-format ''Chicago Today''. Measures to bolster the paper were unsuccessful, and ''Chicago Today'' published its final issue on September 13, 1974. The ''Chicago Tribune'' inherited many of the ''Today'''s writers and staff and became a 24-hour operation.

The ''American'' was the product of the merger or acquisition of 14 predecessor newspapers and inherited the tradition and the files of all of them.

As an afternoon paper, the ''American'' was dependent on street sales rather than subscriptions, and it was breaking news that brought street sales. The ''American'' was noted for its aggressive reporting. Its editors, writers, and photographers went hard after every story. It was not uncommon for them to pretend to be police officers or public officials to get a story, although many of them could simply talk their way into any place.

These techniques were usually used legitimately. Reporters demanded information as if they had a right to it, and would often get it. With its connections to news sources and its bravado, the small staff of the ''American'' regularly scooped its larger, more respectable afternoon competition, the ''Chicago Daily News''.

When Frank Lloyd Wright announced plans to build a mile-high building in Chicago, the ''American'' stole the drawings and printed them.

The tradition was exemplified by the longtime night city editor of the ''American'', Harry Romanoff, "Romy," who could create news stories almost at will with only a telephone. He ran the city room at night with the help of two rewrite men (including Mike McGovern, noted below), one night photo editor, a sports desk editor (Brent Musburger's first job out of journalism school) and one night copy boy who "cut and pasted AP and UPI wires for Harry's review). Since the afternoon paper was put together the previous evening, the night city editor was the key news editor. Moreover, "Romy" a stout, cigar-chomping, suspendered, order-barking commander of the city desk, enjoyed the fearful but absolute regard of pressmen, the composing room and the entire night staff of the Tribune Tower, which owned and housed the ''Chicago Americans operations in its final decades.

One night floods threatened Southern Illinois, and the ''American'' did not have a big story for the front page. Romanoff called fire departments and police stations throughout the region, posing as "Captain Parmenter of the state police" (a nonexistent individual), urging them to take action. One fire department, bemused by the call, asked what they should do. "Ring those fire bells! Call out the people!" Romanoff then turned to his rewrite man to dictate the lead story:

:Fire bells rang over southern Illinois as police and fire departments called out the people to warn them of impending floods.

It never did flood, but the ''American'' had its banner headline. These headlines were necessary for sales of the early editions. Later in the day, breaking news would generally replace them or reduce their importance. Of course, many stories developed in this way were genuine scoops that would be expanded in later editions.

The ''American'' gave the same attention to smaller stories as to large ones. It was usually first with police news. One notable headline:
:Mother of 14 kids kills father of 9 in police station

Headquarters for the paper was the Hearst Building, located at 326 West Madison Street in Chicago. In 1961, the offices of ''Chicago's American'' were moved adjacent to the Tribune Tower at 435 North Michigan Avenue, where they would remain until the ultimate demise of ''Chicago Today'' in 1974.

Notable people

In addition to Romanoff, notable ''American'' staff members included:
* Frank R. Adams, reporter for ''Herald-Examiner'', author, songwriter and screenwriter
* Ann Barzel, dance critic, 1951-1974
* Seymour Berkson, reporter for ''Herald-Examiner'', later general manager of the ''International News Service'' and publisher for the ''New York Journal-American''
* Claude Binyon, reporter for the ''Examiner'', became a Hollywood screenwriter and director
* Arthur Brisbane, named editor of the ''Herald-Examiner'' in 1918; later became a renowned New York newspaper editor and syndicated columnist
* Warren Brown, sportswriter, covered 50 consecutive World Series; winner of Spink Award from baseball's Hall of Fame;
* John P. Carmichael, sportswriter 1927-32, then ''Chicago Daily News'' columnist and sports editor until 1972
* S. S. Chamberlain, ''Chicago Examiner'' editor; later editor of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine
* Bartlett Cormack, reporter for the ''American'', then a Hollywood screenwriter whose films included '' The Racket'' and '' Fury'', as well as the original adaptation of '' The Front Page''
* Homer Davenport, cartoonist, came to ''Chicago Herald'' in 1893 during World's Columbian Exposition
* Billy DeBeck, cartoonist, creator of comic strip ''Barney Google''
* John Denson, editor; executive editor of ''New York Journal-American''; managing editor of ''Newsweek''
* Eddie Doherty, reporter for the ''Examiner'' and ''American'', then Oscar-nominated screenwriter of ''The Fighting Sullivans''
* Charles Dryden, considered the best baseball writer of his era; first hired in 1898 by the ''New York Journal''; capped his career with the ''Tribune'' and ''Herald-Examiner''; coined the name "Hitless Wonders" for the 1906 White Sox
* Carl Ed, cartoonist, creator of comic strip '' Harold Teen''
* James Enright, sportswriter and basketball referee, inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
* Dave Feldman, the ''American''s horse-racing writer and handicapper from 1939-1968, then the same for the '' Daily News'' and ''Sun-Times''
* Leo Fischer, sports editor of the ''American'' from 1943-1969, and also after the paper became ''Chicago Today''; for four years, simultaneously was president of the National Basketball League, precursor to today's NBA
* Tom Fitzpatrick, worked as a reporter for the ''American'' before joining the ''Sun-Times'' and winning a 1970 Pulitzer Prize
* Hugh Fullerton, while covering the 1919 World Series for the ''Herald-Examiner'', became suspicious of the Chicago White Sox's play; his articles culminated in eight Sox players being accused of conspiring with gamblers and subsequently being banned from baseball for life
* Chester Gould, cartoonist; creator of ''Dick Tracy''; drew a number of comic strips for the ''Evening American'' before being hired away by the ''Chicago Tribune'' in 1931
* Robert Gruenberg, Washington bureau chief for the ''American'', 1963-65
* Richard Hainey, the ''American''s executive editor. Bob Hainey, his brother and a ''Sun-Times'' copy chief, was found dead on a Chicago street at 35; the circumstances were addressed by Bob's son, '' GQ'' magazine editor Michael Hainey, in a 2013 book, ''After Visiting Friends''.
* Sydney J. Harris, wrote for the ''Herald-Examiner'' from 1934-41 before launching a long career as a columnist with the '' Daily News''
* George Wheeler Hinman, ''Herald-Examiner'' publisher, after first being owner and editor of the ''Chicago Inter Ocean''; died in 1929
* Walter Howey, managing editor of the ''American'', beginning in 1917; widely presumed to be the inspiration for the colorful character of editor "Walter Burns" in the play '' The Front Page'' and subsequent film adaptations, including '' His Girl Friday''
* Harold L. Ickes, reporter for the ''Record'' at the turn of the century; U.S. Secretary of the Interior 1933-46
* James Keeley, owned the ''Herald'' from 1914-18; also served it as a World War I correspondent
* Frank King, cartoonist 1906-09; creator of ''Gasoline Alley''
* Ring Lardner, writer for ''Examiner'' in 1900s before becoming ''Tribune'' columnist and renowned author
* Jonathan Latimer, crime reporter, covering Al Capone and others for the ''Herald-Examiner'', before becoming a novelist and Hollywood screenwriter; his scripts included ''Topper Returns'', ''The Glass Key'' and '' The Big Clock''
* Jack Mabley, columnist and associate editor for the ''American'' and ''Chicago Today'' 1961-1974; one of his most famous columns was about the measured water pressure during commercial breaks on national TV broadcasts, determining that viewers were using the toilet during the breaks
* Hazel MacDonald, born in 1890, wrote for ''Photoplay'' magazine, then reviewed films for the ''American'' until she was let go for crossing a picket line in 1938; became a war correspondent for the ''Chicago Daily Times''
* Charles Archibald MacLellan, illustrator for the ''Examiner'', later drew many covers for the ''Saturday Evening Post''
* Tiny Maxwell, football player; cub reporter for the ''Record-Herald''; college football's Maxwell Award is named for him
* Maxwell McCrohon, ''American'' reporter in 1958; became managing editor of ''Chicago Today'' in 1970; named editor of the ''Tribune'' in 1972, and later was the ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner'' editor when that paper closed
*Michael McGovern, ''New York Daily News'' investigative reporter; once went door-to-door through Evanston, Illinois asking each woman in one neighborhood if she was the illegitimate daughter of Warren G. Harding
* Buddy McHugh, thinly disguised as "McCue" in '' The Front Page''
* Arthur Meeker, Jr., novelist and socialite, wrote travel articles for the ''American''
* Merrill C. Meigs, publisher during the 1920s; also an aviator, for whom Meigs Field was named
* Edgar Munzel, baseball writer, later of the ''Sun-Times'', winner of Spink Award, earning him induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Brent Musburger, night sports editor of the ''American''; became a prominent television sports personality for CBS and ABC; penned an infamous column describing Tommie Smith and John Carlos as "black-skinned storm troopers" for their protest of racial injustice in the United States during the 1968 Summer OlympicsDave Zirin
After Forty-four Years, It's Time Brent Musburger Apologized to John Carlos and Tommie Smith
''The Nation'', June 4, 2012, Accessed September 10, 2012.
* George Murray, was once sent to Central America and told to "find a lost city," which he promptly did; wrote a memoir about the paper called ''The Madhouse on Madison Street''Murray, George ''The Madhouse on Madison Street'' (Chicago: Follett, 1965).
* Wallace Rice, reporter for the ''Herald-American''; author; designed the Flag of Chicago
* Charles Edward Russell, muckraking journalist for the ''American'' in the early 20th century; 1928 Pulitzer Prize-winning author
* E.C. Segar, cartoonist for the ''American'', creator of ''Popeye, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist; ended his career with ''Chicago's American'' and ''Chicago Today'', retiring in 1972 after drawing approximately 14,000 cartoons
* Sidney Smith, cartoonist for the ''Examiner'', 1908-11
* Wallace Smith, correspondent, covered Pancho Villa campaigns and Washington D.C. politics; became a Hollywood screenwriter, his films including 1927's '' Two Arabian Knights'' and 1934's ''The Captain Hates the Sea''
* Wendell Smith, pioneering African American sports reporter who was requested by Branch Rickey to travel with Jackie Robinson while he was breaking into triple-A and Major League Baseball; later a sportscaster for WGN-TV
* Ashton Stevens, drama critic for ''Examiner'' and ''Herald American''; inspired Joseph Cotten's character in ''Citizen Kane''
* Roger Treat, vocal critic of segregation and editor of the first ''Pro Football Encyclopedia''
* William Veeck, Sr., sports columnist who was hired away to be Chicago Cubs vice-president by William Wrigley Jr. in 1917 after a series he wrote criticizing the team; after the Cubs won the 1918 National League pennant, he was promoted to club president
* Lloyd Wendt, editor of the ''American'' from 1961–69; editor and publisher of ''Chicago Today'' 1969-70
* Brand Whitlock, reporter for the ''Herald''; later mayor of Toledo, Ohio and ambassador to Belgium
* Frank Willard, cartoonist 1914-18, creator of '' Moon Mullins''

Also:
* John F. Kennedy, the future U.S. president, worked as a reporter at the ''Chicago Herald-American'' after serving in the Navy during World War II in 1945, where he covered the United Nations Conference held in San Francisco and the elections that ousted Winston Churchill in 1945 from London. The job was lined up by his influential father, Joseph P. Kennedy.

In the end, TV news brought an end to most afternoon papers, but up until the 1970s, Chicago had a competitive journalistic scene unmatched by most other American cities, five daily newspapers and four wire services in competition, and none were more competitive than ''Chicago's American''.

The ''American''s predecessor and successor newspapers

#''Morning Record'', March 13, 1893 – March 27, 1901 (originally ''News Record'', aka ''Morning News'', aka ''Chicago Daily News (Morning Edition)'' beginning July 24, 1881)
#''Chicago Times'', June 1, 1861 – March 4, 1895
#''Chicago Republican'', May 30, 1865 – March 22, 1872
#'' Inter Ocean'', March 25, 1872 – May 10, 1914
#''Chicago Daily Telegraph'', March 21, 1878 – May 9, 1881
#''Morning Herald'', May 10, 1893 – March 3, 1895
#''Times-Herald'', March 4, 1895 – March 26, 1901
#''Chicago American'', July 4, 1900 – August 27, 1939
#''Chicago Record-Herald'', March 28, 1901 – May 10, 1914
#''Chicago Examiner'', March 3, 1907 – May 1, 1918
#''Chicago Record Herald & Interocean'', May 11, 1914 – June 1, 1914
#''Chicago Herald'', June 14, 1914 – May 1, 1918
#''Herald-Examiner'', May 2, 1918 – August 26, 1939
#''Herald American'', August 26, 1939 – April 5, 1953
#''The Chicago American'', April 6, 1953 – September 23, 1959
#''Chicago's New American'', Sep 23, 1959 – October 24, 1959 (purchased by ''Chicago Tribune'')
#''Chicago's American'', October 25, 1959 – April 27, 1969
#''Chicago Today American'', April 28, 1969 – May 23, 1970
#''Chicago Today'', May 24, 1970 – September 13, 1974

See also

* '' Wandt v. Hearst's Chicago American''

Footnotes

{{Reflist

External links

February 1922 front pages from the ''Chicago American''

Defunct newspapers published in Chicago
Newspapers established in 1900
Publications disestablished in 1974
1900 establishments in Illinois
1974 disestablishments in Illinois