Research: History of The Chicago Tribune

The following was written for an assignment for a class called "Mass Media and Society" in Fall 2020.

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“World’s Greatest Newspaper”

For the past 173 years, the twenty-five-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago newspaper,

The Chicago Tribune has ruled the newspaper industry in the Midwest. The self-proclaimed “world’s greatest newspaper” has not only been influential in regional media but also covers nationwide news. Today, the Tribune remains one of the largest daily newspapers in America, selling roughly 600,000 physical papers daily (New World Encyclopedia).

It all started with three Chicagoans: John E Wheeler, James Kelly, and Joseph K.C. Forrest. Together, the three men started the newspaper, The Chicago Tribune -- as well as its parent company, the Tribune Company. The three men had their first edition published by June 10, 1847. For the next few years, it ran xenophobic editorials targeting Roman Catholics and foreigners (New World Encyclopedia). Unfortunately for them, both the Tribune and the Tribune Company were close to bankruptcy by 1855. That’s when Joseph Medill came into the picture. Medill, along with a few other partners bought the Tribune Company and turned the Tribune into a viable profitable operation.

Under Medill, the Tribune became very influential in the Republican Party. He used the paper to promote his abolitionist and Free-Soil views (New World Encyclopedia). When the Civil War rolled around, the Tribune gained respect with its coverage and activism during the war. Joseph Medill grew the paper’s daily circulation from 1,400 copies in ‘55 to 40,000 during the Civil War (Encyclopedia of Chicago). The Tribune was also one of the more influential early advocates for Abraham Lincoln for President. Medill’s voice became so prominent in the Chicago metropolitan area that he was elected city Mayor and was in office from 1871-1873 (Britannica). After serving office he bought controlling ownership of the Tribune in 1874 and continued as a publisher until his death in 1899.

Medill was succeeded by his son-in-law Robert Patterson. During the few years, the Tribune was under his control, the paper led investigations and editorials targeting machine politicians from both sides of the political spectrum. Other than releasing the first color press in 1901, it was also successful in forcing Senator William Lorimer out of Congress. (Encyclopedia of Chicago).

Following Patterson was Joseph Medill’s grandson Robert R. McCormick who led the paper from the 1910s to the 1950s. Daily circulation during these times skyrocketed, going from 230,000 in 1912 to 650,000 in 1925 making it Chicago’s most widely read newspaper (Encyclopedia of Chicago). In addition to the newspaper itself, The Chicago Tribune had a radio station. The World’s Greatest Newspaper (WGN) Radio Station was started in 1924 by McCormick. Later, in 1948, the WGN Television station was started as well. Under McCormick, the paper became known for its unceasing opposition to President FDR and the candidacy of Eisenhower (Britannica). McCormick’s Tribune released editorials attacking the New Deal and promoting anti-communism while calling itself “The American Paper for Americans,” (New World Encyclopedia).

Its strong nationalist-isolationist views made the paper very popular, as well as numerous stories that put The Chicago Tribune in the headlines of other papers nationwide. One of their bigger scoops at the beginning of McCormick’s leadership was obtaining the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. This was forgotten, however, when the Tribune made its big mistake during the 1948 Presidential Election. Early leads had led the paper to believe that Republican candidate Thomas Dewey would win and an early edition of the next day’s paper had a headline that read,

“DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN”. Soon after, President-elect Harry S Truman proudly “brandished” it in a photo (New World Encyclopedia). The Chicago Tribune made headlines yet again in 1974 when it printed the entire 246,000-word transcripts of the Watergate tapes. The 44-page supplemental paper was released only twenty-four hours after the White House’s initial release making it the first paper to publish the transcripts. A week after that, the Tribune called for Nixon’s resignation which was considered a blow to Nixon’s hopes to recover his presidency (New World Encyclopedia).

After McCormick’s death in 1955, the Tribune moved to a more moderate editorial stance, putting its days in the spotlight behind them. It became known for its reliable, thorough coverage of Chicago and the Midwest-- from everything to government and politics to social life (Britannica). According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, it started to reflect the voice of a larger business corporation instead of individual personalities.

Since the start of the Internet, the Tribune has adapted, expanding its repertoire. In addition to the WGN radio and television stations, The Chicago Tribune website launched in 1995 which contains all of the digitized versions of the Tribune’s stories. In 1996 it launched another website, metromix.com, and ChicagoSports.com in 1999 (New World Encyclopedia). Their latest “big” release was of the RedEye tabloid in 2002 which was geared to younger readers (Britannica). The decline of the industry has not only forced the Tribune to restructure but its parent company, The Tribune Company, was forced to expand in order to survive. Today, the 8.2 billion dollar media conglomerate owns the New York Daily News, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

The Chicago Tribune has been a major player in the media for almost 200 years. Its reliability and thorough coverage have maintained its reputation in Midwestern media.

Works Cited

“Chicago Tribune.” Chicago Tribune - New World Encyclopedia, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Chicago_Tribune.

“Chicago Tribune.” Encyclopedia of Chicago, www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/275.html.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Chicago Tribune.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Sept. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Chicago-Tribune.