History in the making

By: Joe Strupp S.F. newspapers have a rich legacy, spanning a century

While news executives at both The San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner offer little in the way of speculation about either newspaper's future, a peek into their pasts indicates that both have enjoyed quite a ride and will leave behind a legacy of news reporting not soon forgotten.
The Chronicle was the first on the scene among the two, launched on Jan. 16, 1865, as the Daily Dramatic Chronicle by Charles de Young, 19, and his 17-year-old brother, Michael. Legend has it they started the paper with the proceeds from a $20 gold piece borrowed from their landlord.
In only a few months, the Chronicle had arguably its most famous scoop with the first word of President Lincoln's assassination, which Michael de Young heard while visiting a local telegraph office and rushed into a morning extra.
When murder, robbery, and prostitution from the seedy Barbary Coast underworld began to worsen in the latter part of the century, the Chronicle took it up as an issue, running huge expos?s on corrupt politicians such as Rev. Issac Kalloch, who was shot by Charles de Young following an argument over election coverage in 1877. Kalloch survived and three years later, after Kalloch was elected mayor, his son, also a minister, showed up in the Chronicle newsroom and shot Charles de Young dead.
The Examiner's official history marks its beginning in 1880 when Senator George Hearst won the newspaper as part of a gambling debt from its former owners. After several years of trying to juggle the newspaper with his other political and business ventures, Hearst turned the Daily Examiner over to his son, William Randolph Hearst.
The younger Hearst, who took the helm at the ripe old age of 23, invested in advanced printing presses and equipment, revised the newspaper's appearance, and hired new, experienced reporters.
Hearst took the first step in 1895 toward creating today's Hearst Corporation with the purchase of the New York Journal, which eventually led to other newspapers in Albany, N.Y., Seattle, and Houston coming under the Hearst umbrella, which now spans 12 dailies.
As the 19th Century turned into the 20th Century, both newspapers were among the mix of daily sheets scrambling to cover the Bay Area's big events, including the 1906 earthquake and fire that had to be reported through a combined edition of the Chronicle, Examiner and Morning Call, which was printed out of the Oakland Tribune's offices after their own home bases were destroyed or damaged.
The Roaring 20's saw the heyday of newspaper coverage in San Francisco, which ranged from building and business expansion to the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding at San Francisco's Palace Hotel.
In 1935, San Francisco news coverage changed forever when 27-year-old Chronicle editor Paul Smith hired Herb Caen to write a radio column. Caen continued as a columnist for the next 42 years, which included a short stint at the Examiner in the 1950s.
The 1950s saw the beginnings of a major circulation battle between the Examiner and Chronicle, with the Examiner leading among all Northern California dailies at that time. William Randolph Hearst died in 1951.
The 1960s brought the end of the last competing newspaper when the News Call-Bulletin folded and the Examiner and Chronicle entered a joint operating agreement in 1965. The 60s also saw the Chronicle take a lead in the circulation war, selling about 363,000 copies per day, a 60,000 lead over the Examiner.
A 52-day newspaper strike in 1968 forced both newspapers to cut back for weeks, with some editions put out by editors using a copying machine. Another strike in 1994 ended after two weeks of raucous picketing, the use of scab writers, and the death of one union member who was electrocuted while attempting to short-circuit a printing plant generator.

?(Editor & Publisher Web Site:http:www.mediainfo.com) [Caption]
?(copyright: Editor & Publisher May 15, 1999) [Caption & Photo]