CHICAGO NEWSPAPERS

In Metropolis Chicago circulate several of the top ten largest daily newspapers in the United States, of which one of the oldest ones is the Chicago Sun Times.

The Chicago Sun Times was first published in 1884 as the Chicago Evening Journal. The current Sun Times grew out of the merge in 1949 of The Daily Times and the Chicago Sun. The Marshall Field family owned the paper, and gave it a populist, progressive and democratic character. When it was sold in 1984 to Rupert Murdoch’s New Corp, the political stance of the paper changed very suddenly. It mirrored itself to the New York Post. It became more republican and the front-page was designed in a much more sensational way than before.

The Chicago Tribune, supposedly a Republican bulwark, in that same time started to soften its political position. The political difference between the two Chicago newspapers became less of a difference. On July 10th 2007, the new editor of the Sun Times Cheryl Reed announced the return of the newspaper to its old progressive values:

“We are returning to our liberal, working-class roots, a position that pits us squarely opposite the Chicago Tribune -- that Republican, George Bush-touting paper over on moneyed Michigan Avenue. We're rethinking our stance on several issues, including the most pressing issue facing Americans today: Bush's war in Iraq.” (The Chicago Sun Times 7.10.2007)

Chicago Newspaper building

The Chicago Sun Times is now owned by Hollinger International, which after a skimming money scandal was renamed the Sun Times Media Group.

The Chicago Tribune was founded in 1847. It has been an important Republican organ in Chicago almost since its start. At times it published xenophobic and anti-Roman-catholic articles. By 1969, it became a little less conservative, although it kept its support for the Republican cause. In 1974, the Chicago tribune printed the content of the Watergate tapes even before the Government’s own printing office, which made it an impressive piece of journalism.

A week later, after actually reading the whole Watergate copy, the Tribune pleaded for President Nixon’s resign. According to the paper, the transcripts showed nothing of the type of dignity you would expect from the President of the United States.
The Chicago Tribune has won 24 Pulitzer Prizes, most of them for its editorial writing. In 1997 the Chicago newspaper published a popular column called "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" by Mary Schmich. The text is better known as “Wear Sunscreen”, and it became really popular when, in 1999, it was used in a pop song by Baz Luhrmann.

In recent years the Chicago Tribune has proven itself to be more liberal than Republican, criticizing the Republican administration in Washington for its lack of concern for the environment and certain aspects of its foreign policy. However, when it comes to economics, the Tribune still holds a conservative standpoint.

Another famous Chicago newspaper is the Chicago Defender. During World War I, it was the largest and most influential black newspaper in the U.S. It was founded on May 5, 1905 by Robert S. Abbott. It was a very humble start with hardly any investment money, and only in 1910 it was possible for mr. Abbott to hire his first employee. It started to gain a larger reputation, it became known nation-wide and by 1917 most of its readership was outside of urban Chicago. The paper attacked racial issues, and tried to convince black people from the south to move up north, which caused the black community in Chicago to triple in size.

In 1929 the Chicago Defender took the initiative to organize an event that takes places every year in August until the day of today. It is called the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic. In 1956 the Defender became a daily, and changed it’s name into the Chicago Daily Defender. In January 2003 the paper came into ownership of the Real Times Inc group, which is still the owner. CEO of Real Times Inc. is Hiram Jackson.

Read Chicago Newspapers:

Chicago Sun-Times www.suntimes.com
Chicago Tribune www.chicagotribune.com
Chicago Defender www.chicagodefender.com
Daily Herald www.dailyherald.com
Chicago Reader www.chicagoreader.com

Naperville Sun www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun