Scanlan's Monthly
Encyclopedia
Scanlan's Monthly was a short-lived monthly publication, which ran from March 1970 to January 1971. Edited by Warren Hinckle III
and Sidney Zion
, it featured politically controversial muckraking
and was ultimately subject to an investigation by the FBI
during the Nixon
administration. It was boycotted by printers as "un-American" by 1971. According to the publishers more than 50 printers refused to handle the January 1971 special issue "Guerilla War in the USA" because it appeared to be promoting domestic terrorism. The issue was finally printed in Quebec.
Scanlan's is best-remembered for featuring several articles by Hunter S. Thompson
, and especially for what is considered the first instance of gonzo journalism
, Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved
". Thompson's articles from this period are collected with others in The Great Shark Hunt
.
In the magazine, its name was described as being that of a "universally despised Irish pig farmer".
It is also remembered for its catchy subscription-ad slogan adapted from Finley Peter Dunne
's Mister Dooley, "You Trust Your Mother But You Cut the Cards."
Warren Hinckle
Warren Hinckle is an American political journalist based in San Francisco. As a student at the University of San Francisco he wrote for the student newspaper, the San Francisco Foghorn. After college he worked for the San Francisco Chronicle...
and Sidney Zion
Sidney Zion
Sidney E. Zion was an American writer. His works include Markers, Begin from Beginning, Read All about It, Trust Your Mother but Cut the Cards, , Loyalty and Betrayal: The Story of the American Mob and Markers . He co-authored The Autobiography of Roy Cohn...
, it featured politically controversial muckraking
Muckraker
The term muckraker is closely associated with reform-oriented journalists who wrote largely for popular magazines, continued a tradition of investigative journalism reporting, and emerged in the United States after 1900 and continued to be influential until World War I, when through a combination...
and was ultimately subject to an investigation by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
during the Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
administration. It was boycotted by printers as "un-American" by 1971. According to the publishers more than 50 printers refused to handle the January 1971 special issue "Guerilla War in the USA" because it appeared to be promoting domestic terrorism. The issue was finally printed in Quebec.
Scanlan's is best-remembered for featuring several articles by Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
, and especially for what is considered the first instance of gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to be first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style...
, Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved
The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved
"The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" is a seminal sports article by Hunter S. Thompson on the 1970 Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky, first appearing in an issue of Scanlan's Monthly in June of that year...
". Thompson's articles from this period are collected with others in The Great Shark Hunt
The Great Shark Hunt
The Great Shark Hunt is a book by Hunter S. Thompson. Originally published in 1979 as Gonzo Papers, Vol. 1: The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time, the book is a roughly 600-page collection of Thompson's essays from 1956 to the end of the 1970s, following the rise of the author's...
.
In the magazine, its name was described as being that of a "universally despised Irish pig farmer".
It is also remembered for its catchy subscription-ad slogan adapted from Finley Peter Dunne
Finley Peter Dunne
Finley Peter Dunne was a Chicago-based U.S. author, writer and humorist. He published Mr. Dooley in Peace and War, a collection of his nationally syndicated Mr. Dooley sketches, in 1898. The fictional Mr...
's Mister Dooley, "You Trust Your Mother But You Cut the Cards."