The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''
New-York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' to form the ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
''.
History
The first issue of the paper was published by
James Gordon Bennett Sr., on May 6, 1835.
The ''Herald'' distinguished itself from the partisan papers of the day by the policy that it published in its first issue: "We shall support no party—be the agent of no faction or coterie, and we care nothing for any election, or any candidate from president down to constable." Bennett pioneered the
"extra" edition during the ''Heralds sensational coverage of the
Robinson–Jewett murder case.
By 1845, it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the United States.
In 1861, it
circulated 84,000 copies and called itself "the most largely circulated journal in the world."
Bennett stated that the function of a newspaper "is not to instruct but to startle and amuse."
His politics tended to be anti-Catholic and he had tended to favor the
Know-Nothing
The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...
faction. But he was not as anti-immigrant as the Know-Nothing party were. During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Bennett's policy, as expressed by the newspaper, was to staunchly support the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Frederic Hudson
Frederic Hudson (April 25, 1819 – October 21, 1875) was a leading 19th century American newspaper editor, working from 1838 to 1866 for ''New York Herald'', where he served as managing editor, and was influential in the development of Am ...
served as managing editor of the paper from 1846 to 1866.
In April 1867, Bennett turned over control of the paper to his son
James Gordon Bennett Jr.
James Gordon Bennett Jr. (May 10, 1841May 14, 1918) was publisher of the ''New York Herald'', founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett Sr. (1795–1872), who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as Gordon Bennett to distinguish him ...
Under James Jr., the paper financed
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa
Cen ...
's expeditions into Africa to find explorer
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
, where they met on November 10, 1871.
The paper also supported
Stanley's trans-Africa exploration. In 1879 it supported the ill-fated expedition of
George W. De Long
George Washington De Long (22 August 1844 – ) was a United States Navy officer and explorer who led the ill-fated ''Jeannette'' expedition of 1879–1881, in search of the Open Polar Sea.
Career
''Jeannette'' expedition
In 1879, ...
to the
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
region.
In 1874, the ''Herald'' ran the
New York Zoo hoax
The Central Park Zoo is a zoo located at the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In conjunction with the Central ...
,
[Connery, T. B. (June 3, 1893)]
A Famous Newspaper Hoax
''Harper's Weekly
''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...
'', p. 534 in which the front page of the newspaper was devoted entirely to a fabricated story of wild animals getting loose at the
Central Park Zoo
The Central Park Zoo is a zoo located at the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In conjunction with the Central ...
and attacking numerous people.
On October 4, 1887, James Jr. sent
Julius Chambers
Julius Chambers, F.R.G.S., (November 21, 1850 – February 12, 1920) was an American author, editor, journalist, travel writer, and activist against psychiatric abuse.
Life and works
Julius Chambers was born in Bellefontaine, Ohio on November 2 ...
to
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
to launch a European edition. Bennett later moved to Paris, but the ''New York Herald'' suffered from his attempt to manage its operation in New York by telegram. In 1916 a Saturday issue of the paper reported that a major financier was found dead from poisoning; it added that in 1901 he was "mysteriously poisoned and narrowly escaped death."
In 1924, after James Jr.'s death, the ''New York Herald'' was acquired by its smaller rival the ''
New York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'', to form the ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
''.
When the ''Herald'' was still under the authority of its original publisher Bennett, it was considered to be the most intrusive and sensationalist of the leading New York papers. Its ability to entertain the public with timely daily news made it the leading circulation paper of its period.
European edition
During the time of original publisher Bennett, the ''New York Herald'' was perhaps the best-known American paper in Europe.
Its first issue came out on October 4, 1887.
[Richard Reeves]
"The Paris Tribune at One Hundred"
''American Heritage Magazine'', November 1987. Volume 38, Issue 7. The official name of the paper on its front page masthead was The New York Herald European Edition—Paris.
But it became widely known as simply the ''Paris Herald''.
Publisher Bennett Jr. referred to the paper as a "village publication" for the circle of people in Paris who were interested in international news.
Indeed, during its first decades of publication a feature of the paper was a list of every American known to be in Paris at the time, culled from inspections of hotel registries.
Even as the paper's audience grew, most of its readers were in France or countries near France.
The European edition consistently lost money into the 1910s.
As the time of
Paris in World War I
Parisians entered the First World War (1914-1918) in August 1914 on a wave of patriotic fervor, but within a few weeks Paris was close to the front lines and bombarded by German aircraft and artillery. The Parisians endured food shortages, ratio ...
began, Bennett Jr. kept the paper running, even during the
First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...
when some French papers shut down.
When the
American Expeditionary Forces
The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
began arriving in France in 1917, demand for the ''Paris Herald'' soared, with eventually some 350,000 copies being printed each day and the edition finally becoming profitable.
The European edition subsequently became a mainstay of American
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
culture in Europe. In
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
's novel, ''
The Sun Also Rises
''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...
'' (1926), the first thing the novel's protagonist Jake Barnes does on returning from Spain to France is buy the ''New York Herald'' from a kiosk in
Bayonne
Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
and read it at a café.
''Evening Telegram''
The ''
New York Evening Telegram
''The New York Evening Telegram'' was a New York City daily newspaper. It was established in 1867. The newspaper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., and it was said to be considered to be an evening edition of the ''New York Herald''.
F ...
'' was founded in 1867 by the junior Bennett, and was considered by many to be an evening edition of the ''Herald''.
Frank Munsey acquired the ''Telegram'' in 1920, and ceased its connection to the ''Herald''.
Commemorated
![Statue of Minerva, the Bell Ringers, and Owls](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Statue_of_Minerva%2C_the_Bell_Ringers%2C_and_Owls.jpg)
*New York's
Herald Square
Herald Square is a major commercial intersection in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas), and 34th Street. Named for the now-defunct ''New ...
is named after the ''New York Herald'' newspaper.
*The
New York Herald Building
Herald Square is a major commercial intersection in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas), and 34th Street. Named for the now-defunct '' N ...
was designed by the prestigious firm of
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
, and completed in 1908. It occupied the north side of the square. At its top was a sculpture commemorating the Bennetts. The statue of ''Minerva, the Bellringers, and Owls'', by
Antonin Carles Antonin may refer to:
People
* Antonin (name)
Places
;Poland
* Antonin, Jarocin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship
* Antonin, Kalisz County, Greater Poland Voivodeship
* Antonin, Oborniki County, Greater Poland Voivodeship
* Antonin, Ostr ...
, sounded every hour with bellringing.
*After the building was demolished in 1921 to make way for other development, the sculpture was installed on the north side of Herald Square, and the sound was stopped.
*The chorus of "
Give My Regards to Broadway
"Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play ''Little Johnny Jones'' which debuted in 1904 in New York.
Cohan, playing the title character, sings this song as his friend is about to sail to Americ ...
" includes the phrase "
member me to Herald Square." North of Herald Square is
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
, which is named after the rival ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
See also
*
Porter Cornelius Bliss
Porter Cornelius Bliss (December 28, 1838 – February 1, 1885), was an American journalist, linguist, historian and diplomat. Bliss was a volunteer in defense of the capital, served in various government positions and traveled extensively; he was ...
* ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' (successor to the ''New York Herald'')
References
External links
The New York Herald 1842-1920 Many Editions Digitized Online at The Library of CongressThree months with the ''New York Herald'': or, Old news on board of a homeward ...by John Henry Potter
Photographs and architectural sketches of the New York Herald BuildingA winter evening in a crowded Herald Square at the New York Herald Building, oil on board painting
{{Authority control
American penny papers
Newspapers established in 1835
Publications disestablished in 1924
Defunct newspapers published in New York City
1835 establishments in New York (state)
1924 disestablishments in New York (state)
Daily newspapers published in New York City