Chicago Tribune
The first edition of the Chicago Tribune hit newsstands on the 10th of June 1847. James Kelly, John E. Wheeler, and Joseph K. C. Forrest published that initial issue in a city still finding its footing after the Great Fire of 1835. The paper began without political affiliation but quickly aligned with the Whig or Free Soil parties against Democrats. By late 1853, editorials frequently criticized foreigners and Roman Catholics while championing temperance. On the 10th of February 1855, the newspaper formally joined the nativist American Party, also known as the Know Nothings. That same month, their candidate Levi Boone won the mayoral election.
Joseph Medill arrived around 1854 to become managing editor alongside Charles H. Ray and Alfred Cowles Sr. Each man purchased one third of the publication. Under their leadership, the Tribune distanced itself from the Know Nothings and became the main organ of the Republican Party. They absorbed three other Chicago publications between 1855 and 1861 including the Free West and the Democratic Press. Before and during the Civil War, these new editors strongly supported Abraham Lincoln. Medill helped secure Lincoln's presidency in 1860 before serving as mayor himself following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Colonel Robert R. McCormick took control of the newspaper in the 1920s and steered it toward isolationism and Old Right conservatism. The paper adopted the motto "The American Paper for Americans" during this period. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it excoriated Democrats and Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal while showing enthusiasm for Chiang Kai-shek and Senator Joseph McCarthy. In 1910, when McCormick assumed co-editorship with his cousin Joseph Medill Patterson, circulation stood at only 188,000 copies.
A fierce circulation war erupted against William Randolph Hearst's Chicago Examiner by 1914. By 1918, the Examiner merged with the Chicago Herald after losing the battle. The cousins added features like advice columns and comic strips such as Little Orphan Annie. They promoted political crusades that successfully ousted Republican boss Sen. William Lorimer. In 1922, Tribune and Hearst ran rival lotteries to boost readership. The Tribune won that contest adding 250,000 new readers to its ranks. The same year hosted an international design competition for their new headquarters known as the Tribune Tower.
The newspaper is famous for a headline printed on the 3rd of November 1948 stating "Dewey Defeats Truman." Composing room staff were on strike during the election so editors relied on early returns suggesting Republican Thomas Dewey would win. Democrat Harry S. Truman actually won and proudly brandished the paper at St. Louis Union Station. A false article written by Arthur Sears Henning purported to describe West Coast results before East Coast data was available.
Plagiarism scandals struck later decades of the publication. Rick Soll resigned in December 1975 after admitting his column contained verbatim passages from another writer's notebook. Jonathan Broder resigned in February 1988 following revelations he lifted sentences from Joel Greenberg's Jerusalem Post column without attribution. Uli Schmetzer fabricated names and occupations in stories published over three years before retiring in 2002. Mark Falanga could not verify prices listed in a lifestyle column about a Chicago restaurant in May 2004. Gaby Plattner admitted in June 1999 that her travel story about an Air Zimbabwe pilot locking himself out of the cockpit was based on hearsay rather than personal experience.
The Tribune announced on the 13th of January 2009 that it would publish in tabloid format for newsstand sales while keeping broadsheet for home delivery. Readers rejected this change so the newspaper discontinued the tabloid edition in August 2011 returning to its established broadsheet format across all channels. The paper acquired 10 percent of America Online in the early 1990s before launching Chicagotribune.com in 1995.
WGN radio station began as WDAP in 1924 with call letters standing for "World's Greatest Newspaper." WGN Television launched on the 5th of April 1948 becoming one of the oldest newspaper-broadcasting cross-ownerships in the country. A new $180 million printing facility called Freedom Center opened in September 1982. In 2002, the paper introduced RedEye, a tabloid edition targeted at readers aged 18 to 34. On the 1st of October 2012, the Tribune implemented a paywall offering digital-only subscriptions at $14.99 per month. The newspaper moved from Tribune Tower to One Prudential Plaza in June 2018 after spending 93 years at their historic headquarters.
Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell bought the Tribune Company in December 2007 for an $8.2 billion deal. Just over a year later, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the 8th of December 2008 citing debt of $13 billion and assets of $7.6 billion. Legal fees related to the bankruptcy reached $500 million due to claims against former officers and stockholders. The reorganized company emerged from bankruptcy in January 2013 partially owned by private equity firms.
Tribune Publishing spun off as a separate publicly traded company in August 2014 with a $350 million loan. In May 2021, Alden Global Capital acquired Tribune Publishing operating its media properties through Digital First Media. Alden immediately launched employee buyouts reducing newsroom staff by 25 percent. A report in The Atlantic described Alden's business model as gutting staff while selling real estate and raising subscription prices. The paper moved out of One Prudential Plaza in January 2021 relocating offices back to Freedom Center. Coverage has since evolved away from national news toward Chicago-area reporting.
Colonel McCormick prevented the newspaper from participating in Pulitzer Prize competitions for many years before it won 28 awards total. Carey Orr won editorial cartooning in 1961 marking the first post-McCormick victory. Reporter George Bliss won reporting the following year while Bill Jones took another award in 1971. A local team won in 1976 and architecture critic Paul Gapp received recognition in 1979. Cecilia Reyes and Madison Hopkins won local reporting in 2022 examining failed building code enforcement.
The Tribune endorsed Republican candidates throughout most of its history until 2008 when it backed Democrat Barack Obama for the first time. They endorsed him again in 2012 and Joe Biden in 2020. In 2016, they supported Libertarian Gary Johnson over both major party nominees. The paper abstained from endorsing any candidate in 2024. Editorial principles published in 2007 emphasized limited government and free markets while maintaining a Midwestern sensibility suspicious of untested ideas. The newspaper has remained economically conservative while criticizing civil liberties records under George W. Bush.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was the Chicago Tribune first published?
The first edition of the Chicago Tribune hit newsstands on the 10th of June 1847. James Kelly, John E. Wheeler, and Joseph K. C. Forrest published that initial issue in a city still finding its footing after the Great Fire of 1835.
Who founded the Chicago Tribune newspaper?
James Kelly, John E. Wheeler, and Joseph K. C. Forrest published the first edition of the Chicago Tribune on the 10th of June 1847. The paper began without political affiliation but quickly aligned with the Whig or Free Soil parties against Democrats.
What happened when the Chicago Tribune printed Dewey Defeats Truman?
A false article written by Arthur Sears Henning purported to describe West Coast results before East Coast data was available leading to the headline printed on the 3rd of November 1948 stating Dewey Defeats Truman. Democrat Harry S. Truman actually won and proudly brandished the paper at St. Louis Union Station.
How much did Sam Zell pay for the Chicago Tribune Company?
Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell bought the Tribune Company in December 2007 for an $8.2 billion deal. Just over a year later the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the 8th of December 2008 citing debt of $13 billion and assets of $7.6 billion.
When did Alden Global Capital acquire Tribune Publishing?
In May 2021, Alden Global Capital acquired Tribune Publishing operating its media properties through Digital First Media. Alden immediately launched employee buyouts reducing newsroom staff by 25 percent.