The ''American Eagle'', later known also as ''Murray Eagle'' and ''The Green Sheet'', was a newspaper that covered central

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...

, especially the city of Murray, Utah.Robert F. Karolevitz ''From quill to computer: the story of America's community newspapers: commemorating the centennial of the National Newspaper Association.'' Pine Hill Press, 1985

History

The beginnings of ''The American Eagle'' of Murray, Utah, are shrouded in mystery.J. Cecil Alter. ''Early Utah journalism: a half century of forensic warfare, waged by the West's most militant press.'' Publisher Utah state historical society, 1938 The newspaper may have been published as early as 1891 as the ''American''. Other sources list 1896 as the beginning publication date, before Murray was incorporated in 1903. The first known editor was Martin A. Willumsen. The ''Murray Eagle'' and '' Midvale Journal'' started out as the ''American Eagle''. By 1908 the newspaper was named the ''Murray Eagle''. During the 1920s, Peter K. Nielsen, the editor and business manager, began to expand the newspaper's circulation area. P. K. Nielsen was foreman in the composing department of ''The Bikuben'', the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

paper of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. He was then with the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

,'' at which time he became connected with the Eagle Publishing Company at Murray, which was then publishing only the American Eagle, with a subscription list of about four hundred and fifty. Since then the company took over or established the '' Sandy City Star'', the '' Midvale Times'' and the '' Magna and Garfield Messenger'' with the total subscription becoming nearly three thousand. The paper maintained an independent political attitude. Jim and Bette Cornwell came from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

to purchase the ''Murray Eagle'' in the mid-1950s and from it spun off the ''Green Sheet'', named for the tint of paper of the front page. Their weeklies supplemented the Salt Lake

dailies In filmmaking, dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was developed, synced to sound, and pri ...

by dealing with readers on a more local level than possible in the metropolitan press. They also helped give their communities an identity in the

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

. The first green newspaper hit Murray's streets in 1960. Eventually, the paper forsook the green paper for traditional white due newsprint shortages and times when newsprint manufacturers didn't want to put green dye in their paper. Even being printed on white paper, the newspaper retained the Green Sheet name. Cornwell, worked alongside his wife Bette to publish the Green Sheet once a week for another quarter of a century. The Cornwells sold out in 1984 to a young Eastern publisher, Peter Bernhard, a principal in Diversified Suburban Newspapers. Bernhard was for several years an absentee owner; busy running other papers in

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

and

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Even after Cornwell sold the paper in 1984, the local news tint of choice remained green for 10 more years until the Murray Eagle was sold to another owner in 1995. Jeffrey B. Hatch, the former president and general manager of

KUTV KUTV (channel 2) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) and St. George–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate K ...

Television in Salt Lake City, joined John N. Ward, an independent public relations consultant and member of the Murray City Council in purchasing the newspaper and returned the ''Murray Eagle'' name back to the ''Green Sheet'', the name it published under in the 1970s-1980s.Veteran Publisher Again Shows Boldness, Vision. Milton Hollstein

, May 30, 1994 The Murray ''Green Sheet'' had home delivery, and combined circulation of 24,500. The papers were free except for mail subscriptions. The Green Sheet eventually folded in the early 2000s (decade) Two notable journalists wrote for the ''Murray Eagle''.

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

winning columnist Jack Anderson began his career as a teenage journalist covering Murray's local beat. He eventually worked for the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and was known for his muckraking columns, especially during the

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 ...

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

era. Ethel Bradford was a favorite local columnist who received national recognition for her folksy views in her "Out My Window" column.Murray Woman is Runner-Up for Press Award.

Thursday, July 4, 1991

References

External links

Utah Digital Newspapers Project: ''Murray Eagle''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Sheet Defunct newspapers published in Utah 1891 establishments in Utah Territory Newspapers established in 1891