The ''Rochester Journal-American'' was an American

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

owned by

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 ...

History

The ''Rochester Evening Journal'' began operations in 1922, as part of an statewide expansion planned by Hearst, who was eyeing a gubernatorial seat. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Rochester American''. During the early 1930s, the paper came under scrutiny for flouting Section 7-a of the

National Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also e ...

, which certified workers' rights to form

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s. After three weeks of conferences with the fledgling

Newspaper Guild The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practice ...

, the newspaper's management posted on the bulletin board notice that read in part: The paper ceased publication in 1937, when Hearst sold the paper to the Gannetts, owners of the ''Journal-Americans rival papers.

Notable personnel

Sometime prior to 1935, the ''Rochester Journal-American'' was published by Meyer Jacobstein, Ph.D. Journalist, author and poet

Arch Merrill Archie Hayes MerrillHughes, James P"Down-Home Bard: Finger Lakes Great Arch Merrill" ''Life in the Finger Lakes'' magazine, Winter 2008. Accessed January 20, 2001WebCitation archive (August 5, 1894 – July 15, 1974) was an American journalist, wri ...

, who would be a reporter and editor at the Rochester ''

Democrat and Chronicle The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. At 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production fa ...

'' for 27 years beginning in 1937, worked at the ''Rochester Journal-American'' from 1927 to 1937.

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

, who with

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

would create the comic-book character

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

in 1940, had his first job out of high school at the ''Journal-American'' in 1932. He was hired by art director Adolph Edler as an assistant, replacing Simon's future comics colleague

Al Liederman AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

, who had quit.Simon, Joe, with Jim Simon. ''The Comic Book Makers'' (Crestwood/II, 1990) , pp. 26-27 In-between production duties, Simon did occasional sports and

editorial cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine a ...

s for the paper.Simon, ''The Comic Book Makers'', p. 28

References

{{reflist, 30em Defunct newspapers published in New York (state) Newspapers published in Rochester, New York Hearst Communications publications