''The Daily Report'' was a newspaper published in
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...
, under private
ownership
Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...
between 1885 and 1965 and group ownership from 1965 to 1990.
Private ownership
History
The newspaper's first issue, under the title ''Ontario Record,'' was in December 1885, published by brothers E.P. Clarke, editor of the
Riverside Daily Press
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural mun ...
, and A.F. Clarke. The first issue was printed in Pomona.
["Fifty Years for 'The Model Colony,'" ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun,'' June 2, 1932, page 20]
/ref>[
The newspaper changed its name to ''The Daily Republican'' and then to ''The Daily Report'' in 1910.]["Ontario Daily Report Sold for a Reported $5 Million," ''The San Bernardino Sun,'' April 2, 1965, Part B, Pages 1 and 5]
/ref> It was sold by F.E. Unholz and associates in October 1911 to brothers H.L. and Crombie Allen of Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...
.[
By 1912, Crombie Allen had become editor. In that year, a contract was let by H.L. and Crombie Allen for a one-story office building to be built at the corner of A Street and Lemon Avenue in Ontario. By 1920, Crombie Allen was the publisher. A new building was constructed at 212 East B Street in 1929][ and was extensively remodeled in 1957.
On August 1, 1930, the Allen brothers, owners, announced the sale of the newspaper to Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Appleby, from ]La Grande, Oregon
La Grande is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. Originally named "Brownsville," it was forced to change its name because that name was being used for a city in Linn County. Located in the Grande Ronde Valley, the city's name comes ...
, who had moved to Ontario with two young sons. Appleby had published newspapers in Washington, Iowa
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,352 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Washington was founded in 1 ...
, and in La Grande.[
]["Daily Report, Ontario, Sold," ''San Bernardino Daily Sun,'' August 2, 1930, page 14]
/ref>
Appleby died at the age of 39 or 40 on July 26, 1936, in the family summer home in Laguna Beach. His obituary in the ''Los Angeles Times'' noted that the ''Daily Report'' "is known as one of the most progressive and attractive-looking newspapers in Southern California."["Frank B. Appleby, Publisher of 'Daily Report,' Dies Suddenly,'" ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 27, 1936, page 12]] At that time, the circulation was about 4,000.[ His wife, Jerene C., took over as publisher of the newspaper. She later married architect J. Dewey Harnish]["Publisher of Paper Wedded," ''San Bernardino Daily Sun,'' February 2, 1938, page 12]
/ref> and was thenceforth known as Jerene Appleby Harnish.[
R.F. Graettinger was managing editor for many years, retiring in 1942, when he was succeeded by Curtis H. Clay, who came from the ''La Salle (Illinois) Post-Tribune.''
The newspaper company also owned a radio station, KOCS, both AM broadcasting, AM and FM.]["Ontario Newspaper Plans FM Station," ''The San Bernardino Sun,'' September 28, 1944, page 12]
/ref>
Controversies
Chamber of Commerce
Between 1947 and 1949, the newspaper campaigned for "broader industrialization" of the Ontario area and complained that the local Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
was a private group, organized to benefit business and professional people of the city. As such, the newspaper said, the chamber was not legally entitled to maintain its office in the city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
and demanded that it be ousted. The City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
rejected the request.["Oust Chamber Move Backed By Newspaper," ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 7, 1949, Part III, Page 9]
/ref>
Civil Defense
In 1952, the Daily Report company announced it would no longer cooperate with a Civil Defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
informational program because the Ontario Planning Commission had denied a zoning variance
Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...
to permit the enlargement of the ''Report's'' radio station.["Daily Report Company to Refuse Co-operation With Civil Defense," ''The San Bernardino Sun,'' August 7, 1952, page 25]
/ref>
Oregon Smith
In 1953, Mrs. Harnish and other partners of the Daily Report sued Ontario City Councilman Oregon Smith for slander because Smith said at a City Council meeting that the newspaper "without question" had been following "the Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
line". Superior Judge Raymond H. Thompson decided in favor of Smith, whose attorney was California politician Jack B. Tenney. The judge dismissed the case because there was "no limitation" on the statements that a city council member could make during a meeting. The decision was upheld by a District Court of Appeals in January 1956["Court Upholds Attorney in Newspaper Slander Action," ''The San Bernardino Sun,'' January 7, 1956, Page 19]
/ref> and later by the California Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
.["$3 Million Libel Suit Against Ontario Newspaper Dismissed," ''The Daily Sun,'' February 12, 1958, Page A-16]
/ref>
Afterward the newspaper published an article on January 16, 1958, stating that, had the decision gone the other way, "the public would have no protection against malicious statements made by unscrupulous members of any minor legislative body." On March 3 an editorial claimed that Smith had made the charge of communism "without regard to good morals and honesty." Smith sued for $3 million, charging libel. He later amended the complaint to include the newspaper's references to him going back as far as 1949. Judge Jesse W. Curtis Jr. dismissed the complaint in February 1958.["Former Ontario Councilman Files $3 Million Suit Against Paper," ''The San Bernardino Sun,'' November 9, 1956, page 15]
/ref>
Smith filed another suit in January or February 1957, alleging that the unsuccessful 1953 action against him by the ''Daily Report'' had been a malicious prosecution
Malicious prosecution is a common law intentional tort. Like the tort of abuse of process, its elements include (1) intentionally (and maliciously) instituting and pursuing (or causing to be instituted or pursued) a legal action (civil or criminal ...
. He sought more than $1.5 million in damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
.[
This latter suit was dismissed by Judge Richard B. Ault of San Diego Superior Court on motion of attorney Tenney on behalf of Smith. Tenney told a reporter that an ]out-of-court settlement
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
had been made, but a defense attorney denied the statement and said the plaintiff had moved for dismissal to avoid "long and costly court proceedings".["Suit of Ontario Attorney Against Newspaper Ended," ''The Daily Sun,'' December 15, 1960, page C-14]
/ref>
George Stromme
In 1983, promoter George Stromme filed suit against Ontario Mayor Charles Latimer
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
and Jerene Appleby Harnish contending that the two intentionally interfered with a contract he had with the city to promote and operate an air show
An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited.
They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground.
The largest air show m ...
at the Ontario Municipal Airport
Ontario Municipal Airport is three miles west of Ontario, in Malheur County, Oregon. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''general aviation'' facility.
The first airline flights were Empire ...
. His complaint against the publisher centered on an article in ''The Daily Report'' quoting officials as stating that the air show had to be free to the public. He said he had planned to charge $1 admission but could not do so after the article, and so he lost money through the venture. Judge Russell Goodwin dismissed the complaint as being without substance.
Group ownership
History
On March 30, 1965, partners Jerene Appleby Harnish, Carlton R. Appleby, Andrew B. Appleby, Walter W. Axley, Philip A. Sawyer and Rolph Fairchild sold the newspaper company to the ''Pomona Progress-Bulletin
The ''Inland Valley Daily Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, serving the Pomona Valley and southwest San Bernardino County. The ''Daily Bulletin'' is a member of the Southern California News Group (formerly th ...
.'' It was to be published by a new corporation with the same staff and officers as before; Mrs. Harnish was to have an honorary title as "publisher emeritus". The newspaper's daily circulation was about 28,000, and the sale price of the company was said to be $5 million.["Pomona Newspaper Buys Ontario Daily Report," ''Redlands Daily Facts,'' April 1, 1965, Page 1]
/ref>[
]
Controversies
Gag order
''The Daily Report,'' the '' Sun-Telegram'' and the ''Progress-Bulletin
The ''Inland Valley Daily Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, serving the Pomona Valley and southwest San Bernardino County. The ''Daily Bulletin'' is a member of the Southern California News Group (formerly th ...
'' all objected to a gag order
A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed onto any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...
issued in December 1972 by a Superior Court judge forbidding publication of the names of prisoners at Chino's California Institution for Men
California Institution for Men (CIM) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California. It is often colloquially referenced as "Chino". In turn, locals call the prison "Chino Men's" or just "Men's" to avo ...
who testified at a trial for a murder committed within the prison.
William McVittie
In October 31, 1974, California Assembly Speaker Leo T. McCarthy
Leo Tarcissus McCarthy (August 15, 1930 – February 5, 2007) was an American politician and businessman. He served as the 43rd lieutenant governor of California from 1983 to 1995.
Early life and education
McCarthy, whose parents were both nat ...
accused San Bernardino County District Attorney Lowell Lathrop
Lowell may refer to:
Places United States
* Lowell, Arkansas
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* Lowell, Indiana
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** Lowell National Historical ...
, Municipal Court Judge Martin Hildreth, Assembly candidate Pete VanderPeel and ''The Daily Report'' of joining in a "political alliance" to affect the outcome of the forthcoming election in the 65th Assembly District.[Al Ashby and Harvey Feit, "McCarthy Accuses DA in McVittie Case," ''The Sun-Telegram,'' November 1, 1974, Pages 1 and 2]
/ref>
On the same day, William McVittie, a candidate in that race, filed a libel suit against ''The Daily Report,'' over a story it had printed about McVittie's arrest on a misdemeanor charge of election code violations.[ The arrest charge was settled without going to trial,"Claims of Libel Fly as Election Day Nears," ''Chino Champion,'' November 1, 1974, Page 1]
/ref> and there was no further action on the libel claim after McVittie won the election.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daily Report
Defunct newspapers published in California