Theodore Olin Thackrey (November 17, 1901 – October 24, 1980) was an American journalist and publisher, best known as the editor of the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' in the 1940s, and the founder of the leftist New York City newspaper ''
The Daily Compass''.
Biography
Following the demise of the leftist New York City newspaper ''
PM'', published from June 1940 to June 22, 1948, and that paper's first successor, the ''
New York Star'', published from June 23, 1948, to January 28, 1949, Ted Thackrey founded ''The Daily Compass''. Thackrey had been the features editor of the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' before marrying ''Post'' owner
Dorothy Schiff
Dorothy Schiff (March 11, 1903 – August 30, 1989) was an American businesswoman who was the owner and then publisher of the ''New York Post'' for nearly 40 years. She was a granddaughter of financier Jacob Schiff. Schiff was interested in soc ...
in 1943, after which the two became co-publishers/co-editors.
[ Sheehy, Gail]
"The Life of the Most Powerful Woman in New York"
''New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City.
Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
'', December 10, 1973 In 1948, he became solo publisher of the ''Post'' at the behest of his wife, leading to a disastrous three-month tenure in which major advertisers dropped the paper and Schiff returned to take over. Thackrey "left with a following of firebrand writers to start his paper,"
buying the building and physical plant at which ''PM'' and the ''Star'' had been published,
[The Website of I. F. Stone]
"Writings by I.F. Stone: ''The Compass''
/ref> at Duane Street and Hudson Street in Manhattan. He founded The Daily Compass as its publisher and president with private financing.[''Hearings Before the Select Committee in Improper Activities on the Labor or Management Field'']
May 5–8, 1959, at Archive.org The paper began publishing on May 16, 1949, and ceased publication in November 1952.
After ''The Daily Compass'' ceased publication, Thackrey joined the public relations firm Ruder Finn. In 1959, Thackrey and Goldstein testified at the U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
's "Hearings Before the Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field", which investigated alleged improprieties by the newspaper deliverers' union and forcible payoffs to ensure ''Compass'' distribution.
In 1948, Thackrey refused to accept a paid advertisement appealing for funds for the Irgun
The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
due to a split between the Irgun and the Israeli government after the recent War. Although Thackrey supported Israel, he feared the Irgun would use the funds to start a civil war that would doom Israel. Declaring that while he mourned "bitterly and deeply" those killed in the Altalena Affair, he said, "I would mourn the death of Israel even more, and all of my days. I cannot and shall not deliberately assist in a course which I am convinced would promote that monumental graveyard."
Family
His son, Ted Thackrey Jr. (1918?–2001),["Epitaph: Ted Thackrey 1918-2001"]
''Los Angeles Magazine
''Los Angeles,'' formerly known as ''Southern California Prompter'', is a monthly magazine based in Los Angeles, California. It focuses on telling regional news, culture, lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion stories from Los Angeles and the br ...
'', October 2001, p. 38 whose stepmother was Dorothy Schiff
Dorothy Schiff (March 11, 1903 – August 30, 1989) was an American businesswoman who was the owner and then publisher of the ''New York Post'' for nearly 40 years. She was a granddaughter of financier Jacob Schiff. Schiff was interested in soc ...
, later worked as a reporter for '' The Wichita Eagle'' in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
, before joining the '' Los Angeles Examiner'' in the 1950s. He went on to the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' in 1968, eventually becoming a rewrite man. He died in July 2001.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackrey, Ted
1901 births
1980 deaths
American newspaper publishers (people)
New York Post people
20th-century American Jews
American Zionists