The Central Press Association was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 newspaper syndication

Print syndication

Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....

 company based in Cleveland, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns, and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers.

History

Virgil Venice McNitt, the managing editor of the Cleveland Press

Cleveland Press

The Cleveland Press was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis Seltzer....

, founded the Central Press Association at Cleveland in 1910. In 1912, McNitt acquired the Chicago-based North American Press Syndicate and merged it into the Central Press. That same year, McNitt entered into arrangements to publish works authored by William Jennings Bryant and Jane Addams

Jane Addams

Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...

. He hired Bryant to cover the 1912 Republican

1912 Republican National Convention

The 1912 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held at the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, from June 18 to June 22, 1912. The party nominated William Howard Taft from Ohio for re-election as President of the United States and James S...

 and Democratic National Convention

1912 Democratic National Convention

The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. It proved to be one of the more memorable United States presidential conventions of the twentieth century. The main candidates were House Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri and...

s for the Central Press. He also made a deal with Addams to circulate her Progressive Party Platforms to newspaper across the country. By 1925, the Central Press's features had 12 million daily readers and was the largest newspaper picture service in the United States. In 1927, the Central Press also took over the Editors Feature Service. Virgil McNitt remained the president and general manager of the Central Press from its founding in 1910 until 1930.

In 1930, McNitt sold the Central Press to the King Features Syndicate

King Features Syndicate

King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...

, part of the Heart newspaper syndicate. The Central Press Association continued to operate as a separate division of King Features until 1971, when it ceased operations. Murray Rosenblatt was the managing editor of the Central Press from 1946 to 1961. He was preceded as managing editor of the Central Press by Frank McLearn, who became president and general manager of the King Features Syndicate.

Features

• "Diet and Health," by Lulu Hunt Peters
  Lulu Hunt Peters
  Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters was born and raised in California. She attended the University of California and graduated in 1909 as a Doctor of Medicine. Having grown up a hefty child and once weighing over 200 lbs, she was always extremely wary of the problems weight presented to her. A few years after...
  
  
• Dr. Gary C. Myers' psychology series
• "Beauty" by Madame Rubinstein
  Helena Rubinstein
  Helena Rubinstein , a Polish born Australian-American business magnate. She is the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein, Incorporated, which made her one of the world's richest women.-Early life:...
  
  
• Jess Cargill editorial cartoons
• "Hocus Pocus" by Wil Davey

Comics

• "Etta Kett
  Etta Kett
  Etta Kett was a long-run comic strip created by Paul Robinson. Launched as a single panel during December 1925, it originally offered tips to teenagers on manners, etiquette and the social graces...
  
  " by Paul Robinson
  Paul Robinson (comic strip artist)
  Paul Dowling Robinson was a comic strip artist best known for his long-run Etta Kett comic strip.Born in Kenton, Ohio, Robinson was the son of an iron moulder, and the Robinson family were farmers in Buck, Ohio by 1910...
  
  
• "Old Home Town" by Lee Stanley
• "High Pressure Pete" by George Swanson
• "Muggs McGinnis" by Wally Bishop
  Wally Bishop
  Wallace Bond Bishop , better known as Wally Bishop, was an American cartoonist who drew his syndicated Muggs and Skeeter comic strip for 49 years....
  
  
• "Goofey Movies" by Fred Neher
  Fred Neher
  Fred Neher was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated gag panel, Life’s Like That, which offered a humorous look at human nature, with a focus on American society and family life, for more than five decades....
  
  
• "Big Sister" by Les Forgrave
• "Sport Side-Lights" by Jack Sords
• "Humorous Slants on Humanity" by Clifford McBride
  Clifford McBride
  Clifford McBride was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip Napoleon and Uncle Elby.Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, McBride was twice expelled from school because of his drawings in the school paper...
  
  
• "Among Us Girls" by Paul Robinson

Opinion

• "The Way of the World" by Grove Patterson
• "Who's Who"
• "Timely Views"
• "The Grab Bag"