Richard Betts Scudder (May 13, 1913 – July 11, 2012) was an American

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

pioneer,

newspaper publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, and co-founder of the

MediaNews Group MNG Enterprises, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado, United States–based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. As of May 2021, it owns over 100 newspapers and 200 ass ...

, the second largest newspaper company in the United States. He served as MediaNews' chairman from 1985 until 2009. Scudder is also considered an innovator and pioneer of newspaper

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

. He founded the Garden State Paper Company, which later became one of the world's largest newspaper recycling companies.

Biography

Scudder was born to Edward Wallace Scudder and Katherine Hollifield Scudder, on May 13, 1913, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. Scudder graduated from the

Loomis Chaffee School The Loomis Chaffee School (; LC or Loomis) is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, including postgraduate students, located in Windsor, Connecticut, seven miles north of Hart ...

Winter 2013 Loomis Chaffee Magazine before attaining a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Economics with honors from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1935. He enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and served within Operation Annie, an Allied

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

counter-propaganda

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

. Scudder earned the rank of Major and the Bronze Star. In 1944, he married Elizabeth Shibley. Scudder returned to New Jersey from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in 1946 and became reporter at the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'', followed by a journalist position for the ''Newark Evening News,'' which his grandfather had founded in 1883. He later became the paper's

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

from 1952 until its closure in 1972. By then, the Scudder family had already sold the paper to

Media General Media General, Inc. was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-D ...

, in 1970. In 1983, Scudder partnered with

William Dean Singleton William Dean Singleton (born August 1, 1951) is an American newspaper executive. He is the founder and executive board chairman of MediaNews Group, the fourth-largest newspaper company in the United States in terms of circulation, with 53 daily pa ...

to purchase the '' Gloucester County Times''. The

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

daily newspaper, which had a daily circulation of approximately 26,000 at the time, would become the first newspaper of the duo's

. Scudder and Singleton, who had been friends before they became business partners, soon purchased other newspapers - four in California and four in Ohio, financed largely by Scudder. Today, MediaNews, a privately held company, owns such major papers as The Denver Post, The Detroit News, The Oakland Tribune, The San Jose Mercury News and The El Paso Times. Overall, MediaNews has 57 daily newspapers in 11 states with a combined circulation of 2.3 million, making it the nation's second-largest newspaper company after the

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as severa ...

. MediaNews' combined, nationwide circulation stands at 2.3 million, which are published by 57 daily newspapers nationwide. MediaNews also owns 122 nondaily newspapers in nine states. Scudder served as MediaNews' chairman from 1985 until 2009; since 2010 Singleton is the company's executive board chairman. Scudder died at his home in the Navesink section of

Middletown, New Jersey Middletown Township is a township in northern Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township was the state's 20th-most-populous municipality and the largest in the county,

, on July 11, 2012, at the age of 99. His wife Elizabeth died at 84 in 2003. Scudder was survived by one son, three daughters, eight grandchildren, several grand-nieces and nephews, and a few cousins and close extended family members.

Ancestry

Scudder was named for Richard Betts Scudder, an ancestor who fought in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. Another ancestor, Colonel

Nathaniel Scudder Nathaniel Scudder (May 10, 1733October 17, 1781) was an American Founding Father, physician, and officer during the American Revolutionary War. He served as a delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress, where he was one of two delegate ...

, was one of two delegates from New Jersey who signed the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

. In September 1883, Scudder's grandfather, Wallace M. Scudder, founded the former ''

Newark Evening News The ''Newark Evening News'' was an American newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey. As New Jersey's largest city, Newark played a major role in New Jersey's journalistic history. At its apex, ''The News'' was widely regarded as the newspaper of ...

''. Scudder's father, Edward Wallace Scudder, operated the newspaper. Eight generations of Scudders have graduated from Princeton University, starting with a member of the school's first class. According to its alumni department, the Scudders are Princeton's largest alumni family. A small sample includes U.S. Rep. John A. Scudder (1775), Rev. John Scudder M.D. (1811), Edward Wallace Scudder I (1841) Hon. George Drake Scudder (1876), Edward W. Scudder II (1903), Charles Damarin Scudder I (1907), Charles Damarin Scudder II (1935), and Charles Damarin Scudder III (1963), and brother Edward Wallace Scudder III (1935). Richard Scudder's son and multiple grand kids have attended Princeton University. Richard B. Scudder (1935), and Edward W. Scudder (1935), together made the gift for Scudder Plaza in honor of their father, Edward Wallace Scudder (1903).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scudder, Richard 1913 births 2012 deaths American newspaper executives American newspaper chain owners American newspaper reporters and correspondents Princeton University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey People from Middletown Township, New Jersey People of the United States Office of War Information United States Army officers 20th-century American businesspeople Military personnel from Monmouth County, New Jersey Military personnel from Newark, New Jersey