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Another recent current in American journalism should not be overlooked—the passing of the control of important newspapers into the hands of those who edit and make them. In Chicago after the death of Victor A. Lawson, The Daily News passed into the control of Walter A. Strong and other executives of that paper through the assistance of a number of prominent citizens. In the same way The Star in Kansas City went to a group who had been associated with Nelson. In New York city William T. Dewart carried out the wishes of Frank A. Munsey and developed a mutualization plan by which employees shared in the profits. In Dallas, Texas, The Morning News and The Evening Journal passed into the control of George B. Dealey and other employees.
Among the conservative news papers published in The United States is The Christian Science Monitor (November, 1908) published in Boston by The Chris tian Science Publishing Society. This is an international daily newspaper publishing important and constructive news from all over the world, but omitting anything of a sensational or ques tionable character. It has established its own standard of news.
Though the Sunday newspapers and Sat urday editions of evening papers devote many pages to weekly reviews of literature, art, music, drama, politics and current events, they have never superseded the weekly journals special izing in these fields. The oldest weekly journal which is still in existence is The Independent, founded in 1848 and merged with The Outlook (1870) in 1928. This weekly is devoted to com ments on the trend of events, the theatre and books. The Nation (1865) and The New Republic (1914) give pungent articles on current events in America and other countries, and review out standing books. The Literary Digest (1890) wider in scope than its name would suggest, presents both sides of controversial topics of the day, quoting from leading newspapers, and carries special departments on letters, art, religion, science and finances. Time (1923) presents the outstanding news of the week in abbre viated form. The Saturday Review of Literature (1924) is the leading weekly devoted solely to that subject. Judge (1881) and Life (1883) are national humorous weeklies. The New Yorker (1925) primarily local, is a sophisticated weekly devoted largely to satirical articles and reviews of plays and books. The Satur day Evening Post (1821) and Collier's (1888), though featuring articles on current events, may more properly be included with magazines. In addition there are religious, professional and trade weeklies.
The outstanding development in pic torial journalism took place in 1914 when The New York Times added a rotogravure section to its Sunday edition. By 1918 nearly fifty papers were including rotogravure sections and by 1925 the number had passed seventy. In 1919 the first daily
"tabloid" picture paper in the United States appeared. It was called The Illustrated Daily News and patterned on the London Daily Mirror. The Daily Mirror was established, and a few months later The Evening Graphic made its appearance. Other tabloids have followed.
Statistics make dull reading but some are necessary for the sake of completeness. The news paper industry, along with most other industries, suffered a de cided setback during the depression. According to the United States Biennial Census of Manufactures for 1931, there were in that year, 2,044 daily newspapers, of which probably not more than 200 could properly be classed as of the first rank, and 6,313 weeklies. Of the dailies about one-fourth or one-fifth were morning papers, with an aggregate average circulation of 15,480,287, while the total evening paper circulation averaged 25,813,572. There were 555 regular Sunday papers with a combined circulation average of
For a metropolitan newspaper of the first rank the figures of The New York Times may be used. That paper for 1927 had a gross income of $27,424,829.55; it paid out weekly to employees $154,246.98; it consumed during the year 99,633.4 tons of paper; and used 4491.593 lb. of ink. Its employees were dis tributed as follows: the editorial and news departments 525, busi ness office 85o, mechanical 1,869, executive 75—total 3,319. It paid out for welfare activities, such as pensions, sick benefits, etc., $352,000. Pages printed during the year totalled 13,526,481,200.
To South America, rather than to its sister continent, belongs the honour of printing and circulating the first printed news sheets of the Western Hemisphere.
The first printed sheet of news to appear in South America was issued in 1594 at Lima, Peru, and de scribed the capture, off the Peruvian coast, of Richard Hawkins, the freebooter, and of his ship, "The Dainty." Like the earlier sheets of continental Europe, this Relacion had a long descriptive title. But it was not until 162o that one meets printed sheets dealing with more than one item of news. After that year their occasional appearance gives the title, Father of South American Journalism, to their printer, Jeronimo de Contreras, who had come to Lima from Seville, Spain. In 1641 Jose de Contreras succeeded his father as head of the printing house which re mained in the family until about the beginning of the second quarter of_ the 18th century. The most successful of this family of printers was the grandson, Jose, who obtained the appointment of royal printer to the Spanish Crown in the colonies, and who gave special attention to the editing of news sheets which appeared with approximate regularity of about one a month.