James Strohn Copley (August 12, 1916 – October 6, 1973) was an American journalist and newspaper publisher. He published the ''San Diego Union'' and the ''San Diego Evening Tribune'', both later merged into ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' in 1992, from 1947 until his death in 1973, and was President of the

Inter American Press Association The Inter American Press Association (IAPA; Spanish: ''Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa'', SIP) is a press advocacy group representing major media organizations in North America, South America and the Caribbean. It is made up of more than 1,300 ...

(1969 - 1970). His politics was "unabashedly conservative, Republican and pro-American". He had close associations with leading Republicans of the era, including Barry Goldwater,

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

. Copley's presence was a chief reason that the Republican National Convention of 1972 was originally planned to be in San Diego. Copley was born in

St. Johnsville, New York St. Johnsville is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 2,631 at the 2010 census. Accounts vary as to the etymology of St. Johnsville, but most of them state that the town and its village are named after an ear ...

, the son of Flora and John Lodwell. His parents died in the Influenza epidemic of 1917-1918. Copley was adopted at age four by Col.

Ira Clifton Copley Ira Clifton Copley (October 25, 1864 – November 1, 1947) was an American publisher, politician, and utility tycoon. Born in rural Knox County, Illinois, Copley's family moved to Aurora when Copley was 2 so he could be treated for scarlet fev ...

, who later (in 1928) bought The San Diego Union and the San Diego Evening Tribune. Copley graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1939.San Diego Historical Society
James S. Copley (1916-1973)
accessed 20 September 2009 At Yale, he served on the business staff of campus humor magazine ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it became the oldest humor magazine in the world when ''Punch'' folded in 2002."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/histo ...

'' with Roy D. Chapin Jr. and Walter J. Cummings Jr. After college, he went into journalism, becoming the CEO of the ''Union-Tribune'' group on Ira Copley's death in 1947. He remained CEO until his death in 1973, when his wife, Helen K. Copley, took over. The Union and the Tribune merged in 1992 to become The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Copley Press also published smaller papers in California and the Midwest, including the Torrance, California Daily Breeze, San Pedro, California News-Pilot, Aurora, Illinois Beacon-News, and the Burbank, California Daily Review. According to

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original n ...

, Copley, as CEO of

Copley Press Copley Press was a privately held newspaper business, founded in Illinois, but later based in La Jolla, California. Its flagship paper was ''The San Diego Union-Tribune''. History Founder Ira Clifton Copley launched Copley Press c. 1905, eventu ...

, cooperated with the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, which had widespread contacts in the United States media. The University of San Diego has a library named in honor of Copley and his wife (the Helen K. and James S. Copley Library). University of San Diego
About Copley Library
Copley resided in La Jolla, California, and often stayed at a second home in Borrego Springs, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copley, James S. 1910s births 1973 deaths American adoptees American male journalists Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners Copley family 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) People from La Jolla, San Diego People from Borrego Springs, California 20th-century American journalists United States Navy personnel of World War II