Loyal Durand Hotchkiss (November 25, 1893 – April 15, 1964) was an American newspaper journalist who served as the editor-in-chief of the
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
.
The son of Willis M. and Jan Margaret (Ritchie) Hotchkiss, he was born in
Bloomfield, Iowa
Bloomfield is a city in Davis County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,682 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Davis County.
Geography
Bloomfield is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, near the Missouri border.
Bloomfiel ...
, where he attended public school. In 1916, he graduated from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
.
Hotchkiss worked at the ''
Des Moines Daily News
''Des Moines Daily News'' was a daily newspaper published in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends int ...
'', the ''Rockwell City (IA) Advocate'', the ''Des Moines Capital'' and the ''Des Moines Register-Tribune''. In 1920, he moved to California, where he worked for
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
’s ''Los Angeles Examiner.'' Two years later he moved across town to work for
Harry Chandler
Harry Chandler (May 17, 1864 – September 23, 1944) was an American newspaper publisher and investor who became owner of the largest real estate empire in the U.S.
Early life
Harry Chandler was born in Landaff, New Hampshire, the eldest of four ...
’s ''Los Angeles Times'', where he would stay for the next 36 years. In 1926, Hotchkiss was named city editor. He became assistant managing editor in 1933, managing editor in 1934, editor in 1945 and editor-in-chief in 1957. Hotchkiss retired in 1958.
In 1938, Hotchkiss, his publisher
Norman Chandler
Norman Chandler (September 14, 1899 – October 20, 1973) was the publisher of the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1945 to 1960.
Personal
Norman Chandler was born in Los Angeles on September 14, 1899, one of eight children of Harry Chandler and Ma ...
, and the
Times-Mirror Company
The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000.
History
It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
(owner of the ''Los Angeles Times'') were jointly found guilty of
contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
for editorials that commented on pending court cases. The Times took its fight for freedom of the press to the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, where the newspaper was vindicated on December 8, 1941.
[http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/382123 Bridges v. California. Times-Mirror v. Superior Court (1941).] The newspaper was awarded the 1942
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalis ...
"for its successful campaign which resulted in the clarification and confirmation for all American newspapers of the
right of free press as guaranteed under the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
."
Notes
"L.D. Hotchkiss, Retired Editor of Times, Dies," ''Los Angeles Times'', April 17, 1964.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotchkiss, L. D.
1893 births
1964 deaths
American male journalists
20th-century American journalists
University of Iowa alumni
People from Bloomfield, Iowa
20th-century American male writers
Los Angeles Times people
Editors of California newspapers