Scott Newhall (January 21, 1914 – October 26, 1992) was a newspaper editor known for his stewardship of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

''.

Early life

Scott Newhall was born on January 21, 1914, into the family that owned the Newhall Land and Farming Company. He grew up in San Rafael,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, and Berkeley, attending Tamalpais School for Boys,

Tamalpais High School Tamalpais High School (often abbreviated as Tam) is a public secondary school located in Mill Valley, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises almost above Mill Valley. Tamalpais High Scho ...

, San Rafael Military Academy, and the

Webb School of California The Webb Schools is the collective name for two private schools for grades 9-12, founded by Thompson Webb, located in Claremont, California. The Webb School of California for boys was established in 1922, and the Vivian Webb School for girls in 1 ...

for boys. In 1933, in the midst of his sophomore year at U.C. Berkeley, he married Ruth Waldo.

Newspaper career

In 1934, Newhall joined the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as a photographer. By 1952—when the ''Chronicle''s circulation was 155,000, languishing behind those of the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' and the ''

San Francisco Call-Bulletin ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin ...

''—he was promoted from Sunday editor to executive editor, with the goal of increasing circulation, a goal he achieved by enhancing serious news coverage leavened with zany features and a stable of columnists that included "

Dear Abby Dear Abby is an American advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name. History According to Pauli ...

", Arthur Hoppe,

Stanton Delaplane Stanton Hill ("Stan") Delaplane (12 October 1907 – 18 April 1988) was a travel writer, credited with introducing Irish coffee to the United States. Called "last of the old irreplaceables" by fellow-columnist Herb Caen, he worked for the ''San Fra ...

Charles McCabe Charles McCabe (1915–1983) was a columnist for the '' San Francisco Chronicle'' from the mid-1950s until his death May 1, 1983 at the age of 68. He was born and raised in New York's " Hells Kitchen" and was educated by the Jesuits. His wri ...

, "Count Marco", and

Herb Caen Herbert Eugene Caen (; April 3, 1916 February 1, 1997) was a San Francisco humorist and journalist whose daily column of local goings-on and insider gossip, social and political happenings, and offbeat puns and anecdotes—"A continuous love le ...

. By 1965, the ''Chronicle'' had surpassed the competition, with a daily circulation of over 363,000. He left the paper in 1971. In 1963, he purchased '' The Newhall Signal'', which he sold in 1978 but continued to edit until 1988. In 2012, he was inducted into the California Newspaper Hall of Fame.

Paddlewheel tug ''Eppleton Hall''

In 1970, Newhall purchased, refurbished, and sailed from England to San Francisco the 1914

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wat ...

paddlewheel tug '' Eppleton Hall'', which was donated to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

1971 San Francisco mayoral campaign

In 1971, Newhall campaigned to become

mayor of San Francisco The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by ...

. He came in 5th place, getting 8,704 votes, or 3.44% of total votes cast.

Death

On October 26, 1992, Newhall died at

Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (commonly referred to as Henry Mayo Hospital) is a 357-bed not-for-profit community hospital and trauma center in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California. It was founded in 1975. Named after businessman Henry Mayo Newhal ...

, which was named after his great-grandfather. He had been suffering from acute

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic p ...

. He was 78 years of age.

Citations

Works cited

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External links

Newhall memorial reported in 1992 ''Los Angeles Times''

Ruth Newhall 2003 obituary in ''San Francisco Chronicle''

Dolly Rhee 2003 obituary in ''San Francisco Chronicle''

Hartlaub on the anti-swill campaign in 2013 ''San Francisco Chronicle''

Changing Times – 2015 ''San Francisco Chronicle''

2016 ''San Francisco Chronicle'' story on "Swill" headline
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newhall, Scott 1914 births 1992 deaths Editors of California newspapers Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park People from San Rafael, California People from Berkeley, California Tamalpais High School alumni