''The Atlanta Georgian'' was an American daily afternoon newspaper in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, United States.
History
Founded by
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
native
Fred Loring Seely, the first issue was April 25, 1906, with editor
John Temple Graves. They mainly criticized saloons and the
convict-lease system.
In February 1907, Seely expanded the newspaper by buying out the ''
Atlanta News''.
The newspaper was struggling when
William Randolph Hearst purchased it in the spring of 1912 (his ninth newspaper property); he transformed it into a
yellow press, making it much more successful, if less respected. Journalist James B. Nevin became editor (continuing until his death in 1931) and started the Empty Stocking Fund in 1927. That year the newspaper was awarded the
Sutlive Trophy, given by the
Georgia Press Association.
By the 1930s, it was the third-largest paper in Atlanta with a circulation of 75,000: far behind the ''Journal'' (98,000) and the ''Constitution'' (91,000).
In 1939,
James M. Cox purchased the newspaper at the same time as ''The Atlanta Journal'' (now ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution''). He closed down the ''Georgian'', with its last issue being December 18, 1939. By this time, the Hearst empire had decreased to fewer than twenty newspapers.
Atlanta race riot of 1906
In 1906, ''The Atlanta Georgian'' and the ''Atlanta News'', at the behest of gubernatorial candidates
Hoke Smith and
Clark Howell, began publishing a series of unsubstantiated sensationalized stories
claiming that white women were being attacked and raped by black men. This was part of the candidates' attempts to disenfranchise blacks by inciting white fear.
It culminated in the
Atlanta race riot on September 22, 1906, when the newspapers reported four alleged attacks on white women by black men. After the newspapers came out, a white mob of over 10,000 gathered and started attacking, beating and stabbing any blacks in the streets, as well as going to places frequented by blacks and assaulting them there. This resulted in the murder of 25–40 African-Americans. None of the culprits were arrested or prosecuted for their crimes.
See also
*
List of defunct newspapers of the United States
*
List of newspapers in Atlanta
*
Media in Atlanta
*
List of newspapers in Georgia (U.S. state)
References
* Garrett, Franklin (1954). ''Atlanta and Its Environs''.
University of Georgia Press.
Notes
External links
Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archiveat the
Digital Library of Georgia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlanta Georgian, The
1906 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
1939 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
20th-century disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Cox Newspapers
Daily newspapers published in the United States
Defunct newspapers published in Georgia (U.S. state)
Evening newspapers
Hearst Communications publications
Newspapers published in Atlanta
Publications disestablished in 1939
Newspapers established in 1906