Newark Evening News
Encyclopedia
The Newark Evening News was an American
newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey
. As New Jersey's largest city, Newark played a major role in New Jersey's
journalistic history. At its apex, The News was widely regarded as the newspaper
of record in New Jersey. It had bureaus in Montclair
, Elizabeth
, Metuchen
, Morristown
, Plainfield
, Kearny
, and Belmar
. There were also bureaus in the New Jersey State House
in Trenton
and in Washington, DC.
For years, the paper thrived as a daily and Sunday paper. It had five editorial writers, an editorial cartoonist, a military writer, and an aviation writer. The paper even had a Sunday magazine. However a great deal of the paper's focus was on politics.
In 1970, the paper was sold to Media General
. In February 1971 the newsroom voted to go out on strike and walked out in May 1971. The strike lasted almost a full year—not settling until April 1972. It faced increasing competition from the Newark Star-Ledger, and for its final four months, the daily editions of the Newark Evening News were printed on Star-Ledger presses.
The paper folded on August 31, 1972.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. As New Jersey's largest city, Newark played a major role in New Jersey's
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
journalistic history. At its apex, The News was widely regarded as the newspaper
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...
of record in New Jersey. It had bureaus in Montclair
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
, Elizabeth
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
, Metuchen
Metuchen, New Jersey
Metuchen is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, which is 8 miles northeast of New Brunswick, 18 miles southwest of Newark, 24 miles southwest of Jersey City, and 29 miles southwest of Manhattan, all part of the New York metropolitan area...
, Morristown
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
, Plainfield
Plainfield, New Jersey
Plainfield is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population increased to a record high of 49,808....
, Kearny
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
, and Belmar
Belmar, New Jersey
Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,794. The Borough of Belmar is governed under the Faulkner Act system of municipal government....
. There were also bureaus in the New Jersey State House
New Jersey State House
The New Jersey State House is located in Trenton and is the house of government for the U.S. state of New Jersey. After the Maryland State Capitol in Annapolis, it is the second oldest state house in continuous legislative use in the United States...
in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
and in Washington, DC.
History
The News was founded in 1873 by Wallace Scudder, and operated by the Scudder family for 96 of its 98 years.For years, the paper thrived as a daily and Sunday paper. It had five editorial writers, an editorial cartoonist, a military writer, and an aviation writer. The paper even had a Sunday magazine. However a great deal of the paper's focus was on politics.
In 1970, the paper was sold to Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
. In February 1971 the newsroom voted to go out on strike and walked out in May 1971. The strike lasted almost a full year—not settling until April 1972. It faced increasing competition from the Newark Star-Ledger, and for its final four months, the daily editions of the Newark Evening News were printed on Star-Ledger presses.
The paper folded on August 31, 1972.
Historic research
Since its demise, the Newark Public Library acquired the paper's records, including ancillary materials (reporters’ notes, etc.), and has undertaken a major preservation project.Some distinguished Newark Evening News alumni
- John T. CunninghamJohn T. CunninghamJohn T. Cunningham is a journalist, writer, and historian who has published numerous works related to the history of his native state, New Jersey....
, prolific and wide-ranging writer on the history of New Jersey
- Lloyd M. Felmly, Editor of the Newark Evening News and a friend of public health. There is also an award set up in his honor. Lloyd M. Felmly Award : Established in 1976 and named after Lloyd M. Felmly, an editor of the Newark Evening News and a friend of public health, the annual award is presented to an individual for outstanding contribution in the media to the cause of public health in New Jersey .
- Howard Roger GarisHoward Roger GarisHoward Roger Garis, was an American author, best known for a series of books, published under his own name, that featured the character of Uncle Wiggily Longears, an engaging elderly rabbit. Garis and his wife were possibly the most prolific children's authors of the early 20th century. Many of...
, reporter, who created the Uncle Wiggily character as a News reporter. His Uncle Wiggily books later sold in the millions, and the Wiggily character appeared daily in the News for nearly four decades. He also wrote the first 32 volumes in the Tom SwiftTom SwiftTom Swift is the name of the central character in five series of books, first appearing in 1910, totaling over 100 volumes, of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention and technology. The character was created by Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of...
, series, which he wrote under the pen name of Victor AppletonVictor AppletonVictor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books.The following series have been published under the Victor Appleton name:* Tom Swift, 1910–1941...
.
- Lilian McNamara (Garis)Lilian GarisLilian C. Garis , born Lilian C. McNamara was an American author who wrote hundreds of books of juvenile fiction between around 1915 and the early 1940s...
. The first female reporter on the News, she later married a fellow News reporter, Howard Garis. She helped launch the Bobbsey TwinsBobbsey TwinsThe Bobbsey Twins are the principal characters of what was, for many years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest-running series of children's novels, penned under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope. The first of 72 books was published in 1904, the last in 1979, with a separate series of 30 books published...
series and wrote some of the early volumes.
- George P. OslinGeorge P. OslinGeorge P. Oslin was a reporter, executive at Western Union and author on the history of telecommunication.Oslin graduated from Mercer University and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. He was a reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger and the Newark Evening News...
, leading reporter. He later became Public Relations head of Western UnionWestern UnionThe Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
, and in 1933 invented the singing telegramSinging telegramA singing telegram is a message that is delivered by an artist in a musical form. Singing telegrams are historically linked to normal telegrams, but tend to be humorous. Sometimes the artist is in costume or formal clothing. Singing telegrams are often given as a gift.Western Union, the American...
.
- Lute PeaseLute PeaseLucius Curtis Pease , better known as Lute Pease, was an American editorial cartoonist and journalist with a lengthy career through the first half of the 20th century....
, News editorial cartoonist and winner of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial CartooningPulitzer Prize for Editorial CartooningThe Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect...
.
- Richard Reeves, writer for the News from 1963 to 1965. Later he spent one year at the New York Herald TribuneNew York Herald TribuneThe New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
and then The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as Chief Political Correspondent. His best-selling books included President Kennedy: Profile of Power (1993), and President Nixon: Alone in the White House (2001). He currently is a syndicated columnist and lecturer at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
- Andrew E. SvensonAndrew E. SvensonAndrew E. Svenson was an American children's author, publisher, and partner in the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Under a variety of pseudonyms, many shared with other authors, Svenson authored or coauthored more than 70 books for children, including books for the Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and...
worked for the News from 1932 until 1948. After leaving the newspaper, he joined the Stratemeyer SyndicateStratemeyer SyndicateThe Stratemeyer Syndicate was the producer of a number of mystery series for children, including Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the various Tom Swift series, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys, and others.- History :...
, where he became a partner in 1961. Svenson shared the major writing chores with Harriet AdamsHarriet AdamsHarriet Stratemeyer Adams was an American juvenile mystery novelist and publisher who authored some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote many books in the Nancy Drew series and a few in the Hardy Boys series...
. Under a variety of pseudonyms, many shared with other authors, Svenson wrote books for the Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and Honey BunchHoney BunchThe Honey Bunch series of books were part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate of books which included the series Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins...
series.
- Arthur Sylvester, who headed the News bureau in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In 1960 he joined the Kennedy administrationJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public AffairsOffice of the Secretary of DefenseThe Office of the Secretary of Defense is a headquarters-level staff of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It is the principal civilian staff element of the Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department...
.