The Field Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated independently from 1941 to 1984, for a good time under the name the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. The service was founded by

Marshall Field III Marshall Field III (September 28, 1893 – November 8, 1956) was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, grandson of businessman Marshall Field, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune, a ...

and was part of Field Enterprises. The syndicate was most well known for ''

Steve Canyon ''Steve Canyon'' is an American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, '' Terry and the Pirates'', ''Steve Canyon'' ran from January 13, 1947, until June 4, 1988. It ...

'', but also launched such popular, long-running strips as '' The Berrys'', ''

From 9 To 5 ''From 9 To 5'' was an American single-panel comic strip series by Chicago comic strip artist Jo Fischer (1900-1987). Distributed by Field Newspaper Syndicate, at its peak the cartoon was carried by 100 newspapers. ''From 9 to 5'' featured shap ...

'', '' Rivets'', and '' Rick O'Shay''. Other features included the editorial cartoons of

Bill Mauldin William Henry Mauldin (; October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was an American editorial cartoonist who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the ...

and Jacob Burck, and the " Ask Ann Landers" advice column.

History

The Chicago Sun Syndicate was founded in December 1941, concurrent with the founding of Marshall Field III's '' Chicago Sun'' newspaper. Long-time syndication veteran Henry Baker was installed as manager. Comic-strip historian Allan Holtz has written regarding the origins of the Field Syndicate and its relationship to the rest of the company: Field formed Field Enterprises in August 1944, and the syndicate became known as Field Enterprises Syndicate. One of the first major strips syndicated by Field was the hugely popular '' Mutt and Jeff'' (first launched in 1907), which moved over from the Bell Syndicate-North American Newspaper Alliance. With the ''Chicago Sun'' and '' Chicago Daily Times'' merger in January 1948, the syndicate absorbed the Chicago Times Syndicate,"Who’s Who Among Leading U.S. Syndicate Executives," ''

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...

'' (September 7, 1946), archived a
"News of Yore 1946: Syndicate Executives Profiled,"
''Stripper's Guide'' (July 21, 2010). and installed its general manager, Russ Stewart, as head of Field Enterprises. At some point circa 1950, the Field Syndicate changed its name to the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. In 1963 Field Enterprises and ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'' publisher John Hay Whitney acquired the Chicago-based Publishers Newspaper Syndicate, merging syndication operations with the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate, the New York Herald Tribune Syndicate, and the syndicate of the '' Chicago Daily News'' (a newspaper that had been acquired by Field Enterprises in 1959). In 1967, Field Enterprises acquired

Robert M. Hall Robert M. Hall (September 27, 1909 – December 21, 1998) was an American media executive, founder of Publishers-Hall Syndicate and later Hall Communications. Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Hall graduated from Brown University in 19 ...

's Hall Syndicate, merging it with Publishers to form the Publishers-Hall Syndicate, and thus taking on distribution of such popular, long-running strips as '' Mary Worth'', ''

Steve Roper Steve Roper is a noted climber and historian of the Sierra Nevada in the United States. He along with Allen Steck are the founding editors of the Sierra Club journal ''Ascent''. Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mou ...

'', ''

Penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

'', ''

Kerry Drake ''Kerry Drake'' is the title of a comic strip created for Publishers Syndicate by Alfred Andriola as artist and Allen Saunders as uncredited writer. It debuted on Monday, October 4, 1943, replacing Norman Marsh's ''Dan Dunn'', and was syndica ...

'', ''

Rex Morgan, M.D. ''Rex Morgan, M.D.'' is an American soap opera comic strip, created May 10, 1948 by psychiatrist Dr. Nicholas P. Dallis under the pseudonym Dal Curtis. History The name for the strip was inspired by the real life Rex S. Morgan Sr., the U.S. Arm ...

'', '' Judge Parker'', '' Miss Peach'', '' B.C.'', and '' The Wizard of Id''. In 1975, syndication operations absorbed Publishers-Hall, and were renamed the Field Newspaper Syndicate, taking on such strips as '' Dennis the Menace'', ''

Funky Winkerbean ''Funky Winkerbean'' is an American comic strip by Tom Batiuk. Distributed by North America Syndicate, a division of King Features Syndicate, it appears in more than 400 newspapers worldwide. While Batiuk was a 23-year-old middle school art tea ...

'', ''

Mark Trail ''Mark Trail'' is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on environmental and ecological themes. As of 2020, King Features syndicated the strip to "nearly 150 newspaper ...

'', and ''

Momma ''Momma'' is an American comic strip by Mell Lazarus that ran from October 26, 1970, to July 10, 2016. Publication history ''Momma'' was Lazarus' second strip; he had been publishing the syndicated strip ''Miss Peach'' since 1957. Debuting o ...

''. The operation was renamed News America Syndicate (NAS) in 1984, after the company was purchased by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

Richard S. Newcombe Richard S. Newcombe (born August 8, 1950) is the founder and chairman of Creators Syndicate, which currently represents more than 200 writers and artists and has expanded to include Creators Publishing. Since the company's founding in 1987, the r ...

(coming over from the Los Angeles Times Syndicate) was named President of NAS, which at that point was considered the third-most powerful syndicate, after King Features and United Media.Storch, Charles
"Hearst To Buy Murdoch Syndicate,"
''Chicago Tribune'' (December 25, 1986). Hearst bought the syndicate in 1987 and renamed it North America Syndicate. The pending sale of NAS (which was first reported in October 1986), prompted Newcombe to leave the company in January 1987 and, using financial backing from London-based publisher Robert Maxwell, form Creators Syndicate before the close of the NAS sale. Creators Syndicate originated on February 13, 1987. Within a month, Creators acquired the syndication rights to '' B.C.'' and '' Ask Ann Landers''. North America Syndicate is now part of Hearst's syndication division,

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

.King Features Syndicate profile.
via Hearst Corporation

Field Newspaper Syndicate comic strips

''Strips that originated with Chicago Daily Times / Chicago Sun Syndicate / Field Enterprises / Field Newspaper Syndicate / Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate:'' * ''Addled Ads'' by Harry Lutke (1949–1951) * ''Animal Crackers'' mostly by Warren Goodrich (1937–1957) * ''

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...

'' by Kevin McCormick (1982–1984; continued by News America Syndicate and North America Syndicate until 1988) * '' Barnaby'' by Crockett Johnson (1942–1952) * ''Barring None'' by

Burck Burck is a surname; notable people with this surname include: * Jacob Burck (1907–1982), American political cartoonist * Joachim a Burck (1546–1610; also ''Joachim von Burgk'', sometimes ''Joachim Moller''), German composer * Robert John Burck ...

(1941) * ''The Beehive'' by the editors of ''Childlife'' (1957-1961) — Sundays only * '' The Berrys'' by Carl Grubert (1942–1974) * ''

Betsy and Me ''Betsy and Me'' is a humorous American comic strip about a dysfunctional, post-war American middle-class family, created by Jack Cole (artist), Jack Cole (1914–1958). It was written and drawn first by Cole and then, after his death, by Dwight ...

'' by Jack Cole (1958)Goulart, Ron
"Jack and Betsy and Me"
. Hogan's Alley (Bull Moose Publishing) (May 18, 2012). Retrieved 2013-12-29. * ''Candy''
at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

by Ed Goggin and Harry Sahle, and later Tom Dorr (1944–1969) * ''

Captain Midnight ''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is a United States, U.S. adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into ...

'' by France Herron and Erwin L. Hess (June 29, 1942–late 1940s) * ''The Captain's Gig'' by Virgil Partch (March 1977–c. 1984) * '' Claire Voyant'' by Jack Sparling''Betsy and Me''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on August 27, 2015. (May 10, 1943 – 1948) * ''

Conchy ''Conchy'' was an American comic strip that ran from March 2, 1970 to February 5, 1977 (daily) and March 13, 1977 (Sunday). Set on a desert island with a group of beachcombers as the main characters, the strip addressed serious issues of its ti ...

'' by James Childress (1970–1977) * ''Emily and Mabel'' by Emidio "Mike" Angelo (early 1950s) * ''Freddy'' by Robert Baldwin (c. 1967–1980) — inherited from Publishers-Hall Syndicate * ''

'' by Jo Fischer (1946–1971) * ''Goosemyer'' by Don Wilder and

Brant Parker Brant Julian Parker (August 26, 1920 – April 15, 2007) was an American cartoonist. He co-created and drew ''The Wizard of Id'' comic strip until passing the job on to his son, Jeff Parker, in 1997. Cartoonist Johnny Hart, his co-creator, ...

(1981–1983) * ''Granny and Slowpoke'' by Werner Wejp-Olsen (1976–1977) * '' Grin and Bear It'' originally by

George Lichty George Lichty (May 16, 1905 – July 18, 1983) was an American cartoonist, creator of the daily and Sunday cartoon series ''Grin and Bear It''. His work was signed Lichty and often ran without mention of his first name. Biography Born George ...

(1940–1984; picked up from United Feature Syndicate; continued by News America Syndicate and King Features until 2015) * ''Guindon'' by Dick Guindon (1981–c. 1985) — picked up from the Los Angeles Times Syndicate * ''Hit or Miss'' by

George Sixta George Sixta (March 13, 1909 - January 7, 1986) was an American cartoonist, best known for his syndicated comic strip, ''Rivets'', about a wire-haired terrier. It was syndicated by Field Enterprises and its successor, News America Syndicate. He pr ...

(1948–1954) * ''

Invisible Scarlet O'Neil ''Invisible Scarlet O'Neil'' is a 1940-1956 American comic strip written and drawn by Russell Stamm, who had previously been an assistant to Chester Gould on ''Dick Tracy''. The strip focused on Scarlet O'Neil, a plainclothes superhero (and one o ...

'' by Russell Stamm (1940–1956) — inherited from the '' Chicago Daily Times'' * ''Jack and Judy in Bibleland'' by Robert Acomb and William Fay (1947–1950) — also known as ''Christina Anders'' * '' Latigo'' by

Stan Lynde Myron Stanford Lynde (September 23, 1931 – August 6, 2013) was an American comic strip artist, painter and novelist. Biography Born 23 September 1931 in Billings, Montana, he was raised on a sheep ranch near Lodge Grass. He attended the ...

(1979–1983) * '' Marvin'' by Tom Armstrong (1982–1984; continued by News America Syndicate and King Features) * ''McGonigle of the Chronicle'' by

Jeff Danziger Jeff Danziger (born 1943 in New York, New York) is a syndicated political cartoonist and author. Danziger was listed on Bernard Goldberg's list of "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America." Danziger described the listing as "an honor." Biograph ...

(August 1, 1983–November 24, 1985)Holtz, Allan
"Obscurity of the Day: McGonigle of the Chronicle,"
''Stripper's Guide'' (September 3, 2015). * ''Medicare'' by Reamer Keller"Cartoon Laughs in a Medical Vein". ''The Daily Review'' (Hayward, California), January 19, 1966. (1966–1975) * ''Mrs. Lyon’s Cubs'' by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, Joe Maneely, and

Al Hartley Henry Allan Hartley (October 25, 1921 – May 27, 2003)Henry A. Hartley
at the United States Social Security Dea ...

(1957–1958) * '' Rick O'Shay'' by

(1958–1981) * ''Rivets'' by

(1953–1985) * ''

'' by Milton Caniff (1947–1984; continued by News America Syndicate and King Features until 1988)

References

{{reflist Comic strip syndicates Defunct companies based in Chicago Mass media companies established in 1941 Hearst Communications Mass media companies disestablished in 1988

History

Field Newspaper Syndicate comic strips

See also

References