Boston Post
Encyclopedia
The Boston Post was the most popular daily newspaper
in New England
for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The Post was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G. Greene
and William Beals.
By the 1930s, The Boston Post had grown to be one of the largest newspapers in the country, with a circulation of well over a million readers.
Throughout the 1940s, facing increasing competition from the Hearst
-run papers in Boston
and New York
and from radio
and television
news, the paper began a decline from which it never recovered.
Appearing in the Sunday paper every week was a weekly magazine. It was called first The Sunday Magazine of The Boston Sunday Post and later The Boston Sunday Post Sunday Magazine.
. The paper had several hundred ornate, gold-tipped canes made and contacted the selectmen in New England's largest town
s. The Boston Post Canes were given to the selectmen and presented in a ceremony to the town's oldest living man. The custom was expanded to include a community's oldest women in 1930. Many towns in New England still carry on the Boston Post cane tradition with the original canes they were awarded in 1909.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The Post was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G. Greene
Charles Gordon Greene
Charles Gordon Greene was an American journalist.-Biography:Greene was born at Boscawen, New Hampshire.He was the brother of Nathaniel Greene, in whose care he was placed on the death of his father in 1812, and who sent him to the Bradford Academy...
and William Beals.
By the 1930s, The Boston Post had grown to be one of the largest newspapers in the country, with a circulation of well over a million readers.
Throughout the 1940s, facing increasing competition from the Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
-run papers in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and from radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
news, the paper began a decline from which it never recovered.
Former Contributors
- Olin DownesOlin DownesOlin Downes was an American music critic.He studied piano, music theory, and music criticism in New York and Boston, and it was in those two cities that he made his career as a music critic—first with the Boston Post and then with the New York Times...
, music critic. - Richard Frothingham, Jr.Richard Frothingham, Jr.Richard Frothingham, Jr. was a Massachusetts historian, journalist, and politician. Frothingham was a proprietor and managing editor of The Boston Post...
, a Massachusetts historian, journalist, and politician who was a proprietor and managing editor of The Boston Post. - Kenneth Roberts
- Olga Van Slyke Owens Huckins, literary editor, 1941 to 1954. Huckins letter to Rachel CarsonRachel CarsonRachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
inspired the book Silent Spring.
Sunday Magazine
Pulitzer Prizes
- 1921 - Meritorious Public Service. The Boston Post was awarded the Pulitzer prize for its investigation and exposure of Charles PonziCharles PonziCarlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi, , commonly known as Charles Ponzi, was a businessman and con artist in the U.S. and Canada. Born in Italy, he became known as a swindler in North America for his money making scheme. His aliases include Charles Ponei, Charles P. Bianchi, Carl and Carlo...
's financial fraud. It was the last Pulitzer won for public service awarded to a Boston paper until the Globe won it in 2003.
Boston Post Cane Tradition
In 1909, under the savvy ownership of Edwin A. Grozier, the Boston Post engaged in its most famous publicity stuntPublicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
. The paper had several hundred ornate, gold-tipped canes made and contacted the selectmen in New England's largest town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
s. The Boston Post Canes were given to the selectmen and presented in a ceremony to the town's oldest living man. The custom was expanded to include a community's oldest women in 1930. Many towns in New England still carry on the Boston Post cane tradition with the original canes they were awarded in 1909.
See also
- The Boston Daily AdvertiserBoston Daily AdvertiserThe Boston Daily Advertiser was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston.-History:...
- The Boston Evening TranscriptBoston Evening TranscriptThe Boston Evening Transcript was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941.-Beginnings:...
- The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
- The Boston HeraldBoston HeraldThe Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
- The Boston JournalThe Boston JournalThe Boston Journal was a daily newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts from 1833 until October 1917 when it was merged with the Boston Herald....
- The Boston RecordThe Boston RecordThe Boston Record was founded on September 3, 1884 by The Boston Daily Advertiser as an evening campaign newspaper. The Record was so popular that it was made a permanent publication.-Bibliography:...