Chicago Tribune

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Front page of the Tribune falsely reporting that Dewey won the 1948 presidential election

The Chicago Tribune, self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", is the leading newspaper of the Midwest of the United States.

Founded in 1847, the Tribune began as a Know Nothing rag. It consisted mostly of columns that were xenophobic, with constant foreigner and Roman Catholic bashing. Eight years after its founding, Joseph Medill and his five partners bought the paper. The xenophobia in the paper was toned down, but the paper began promoting temperance. When "Long" John Wentworth entered his second term as mayor of Chicago, he sold the Chicago Democrat to Medill.

Before and during the American Civil War, Joseph Medill pushed an abolitionist agenda and strongly supported Abraham Lincoln. The paper remained a strong force in Republican politics for years afterwards.

Under the 20th century editorship of Col. Robert R. McCormick these tendencies were exaggerated and the paper was strongly isolationist and actively biased in its coverage of political news and social trends, calling itself "An American newspaper for Americans", excoriating the Democrats and the New Deal, resolutely disdainful of the British and French, and greatly enthusiastic for Chiang Kai-shek and Sen. Joseph McCarthy. These biases were so pronounced that the paper came to be regarded as untrustworthy.

One of the great scoops in Tribune history was the revelation of U.S. war plans on the eve of the Pearl Harbor attack. Col. McCormick also once mutilated an American flag by cutting out what he deemed the "Rhode Island star" after that state had offended him.

The paper is also infamous for its reporting of the 1948 presidential election. At that time, many of its staff was on strike, and early returns led the paper to believe that the Republican candidate Thomas Dewey would win. The next day's issue was printed in advance: the headline was "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN", turning the paper into a national laughingstock when it turned out that Truman won.

Chicago Tribune Building, Raymond Hood & Howels, architects, opened 1925

Although the paper has since reformed and toned down, it retains a strong Republican slant and remains a dominant voice in "Chicagoland" and the Midwest in general.

The Chicago Tribune is the centerpiece of The Tribune Corporation, which includes many smaller suburban newspapers, radio and television stations, including WGN, whose call letters stand for "World's Greatest Newspaper", as well as pulp and paper interests, and Great Lakes shipping. The Tribune Corporation also owns the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Also owned by the Tribune Corporation is the scalping office close to Wrigley Field, meaning that for every game they purchase a large quantity of their own tickets.

The corporation is also closely associated with the New York Daily News. The publisher of the News, Capt. Joseph Patterson and Col. McCormick, were both descendants of Medill. Both were also enthusiasts for simplified spelling, another hallmark of their papers.

Since 1925, the Chicago Tribune has been housed in the Gothic Tribune Tower, the result of a famous design competition.

Table of contents

1 Columnists

1.1 Current
1.2 Past

2 External link