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''The Philadelphia Record'' was a daily newspaper published in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
from 1877 until 1947. It became among the most circulated papers in the city and was at some points the circulation leader.


History

''The Public Record'' was a newspaper first published in Philadelphia on May 14, 1870; it was founded by William J. Swain, son of
William Moseley Swain William Moseley Swain (May 12, 1809, in Manlius, New York – February 16, 1868, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a 19th-century American newspaper journalist, publisher, editor and newspaper owner and businessman. He was one of the founders ...
, who had founded the '' Public Ledger''. At the time it was published at Clark's Hall at 3rd and Chestnut Streets.The Record, ''Backstage with a Great Newspaper'', Philadelphia (1936) In 1877, William M. Singerly acquired the small-circulation paper and renamed it the ''Record'', and lowered its price to one-cent. By 1894, ''
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 ...
'' praised it as "one of the best and most widely circulated newspapers in the United States."Success of The Philadelphia Record
''
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 ...
'', June 5, 1894.
Despite the dire economic state at the time, the ''Record'' "held its own", and sold 57,000,000 copies in 1893. At that time, it was the most widely read newspaper in the city and equaled the combined circulation of any two of its Philadelphian competitors. Its printing facilities were lauded as modern and both its foreign and domestic reporting as accurate and prompt. The ''Records headquarters were at 917-919 Chestnut Street, in a building designed by Willis G. Hale. After Singerly died in 1898, the paper was acquired by the Wanamakers.Alt URL
/ref> It was the first newspaper in Philadelphia to use the
Linotype machine The Linotype machine ( ) is a "line casting" machine used in printing; manufactured and sold by the former Mergenthaler Linotype Company and related It was a hot metal typesetting system that cast lines of metal type for individual uses. Lin ...
. After Rodman Wanamaker died in 1928, the paper was bought by J. David Stern, owner of the '' Courier-Post'' in nearby Camden, New Jersey; he also moved the headquarters of the ''Record'' in November of that year from 917-919 Chestnut Street to the former
Packard Motor Corporation Building The Packard Motor Car Company Building, also known as the Press Building, is a historic office building located at 317–321 N. Broad Street between Pearl and Wood Streets in the Callowhill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structu ...
at 317-319 N. Broad Street. Though the circulation of the ''Record'' was only 123,000 when he bought it, Stern was able to raise it to 315,000 within a few years. During the Great Depression, the ''Record'' became one of only two morning newspapers in the city after the '' Public Ledger'' morning and Sunday editions were merged with ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' in 1933. In 1936, the ''Record'' had a weekday circulation of 328,322 and Sunday circulation of 369,525. By comparison, it led the ''Inquirer'' during the week, when the competitor sold 280,093 copies, but trailed on Sundays, when the ''Inquirer'' sold 669,152 copies. That year,
Moses Annenberg Moses Louis Annenberg (February 11, 1877 – July 20, 1942) was an American newspaper publisher, who purchased ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States in 1936. ''The Inquirer'' has the sixte ...
bought the ''Inquirer'', and the rivalry between the publications significantly increased. The two papers, whose buildings were within sight of each other, engaged in a "duel of keep-the-lights-on", in which their employees attempted to log longer workdays than their competitors. Both newspapers during this time accused the other of attempts to steal stories. In the 1930s, as the competition stiffened between the ''Record'' and its primary morning competitor, the ''Inquirer'', both increased their daily price to 3 cents (about $ in inflation-adjusted terms). From July 1936 to 1938, the ''Record'''s circulation fell by 40%.Gerry Wilkinson
The History of the Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Press Association, retrieved July 15, 2009.
In the latter year, the ''Records weekday circulation had fallen to 204,000 and its Sunday edition to 362,783. During the late 1930s, the ''Record'', a
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 ...
-aligned publication led by publisher J. David Stern, was seen as a voice for the executives in both the
federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
and
state governments A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, ...
. Red Smith, who would later win a Pulitzer Prize with 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 d ...
'', was a sportswriter for the ''Record'' from 1936 to 1945. The ''Record'' had a reputation for social activism. It ran stories that broke up bogus medical colleges, stopped the sale of dead bodies, campaigned against Sunday blue laws, and recommended going off the gold standard. Once, outraged at the high price of coal, the newspaper bought the output of a coal mine and sold it at discounted prices to the public. The ''Record'' made history in the early 1930s by hiring Orrin C. Evans as "the first black writer to cover general assignments for a mainstream white newspaper in the United States;""ORRIN C. EVANS, JOURNALIST, 68: Veteran Black Reporter in Philadelphia Is Dead,"
''New York Times'' (August 8, 1971).
as a staff writer, Evans covered many topics including segregation in the armed services during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Reprinted from ''
Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...
'' February 28, 1997, pp. 32, 34, 37-38. Article includes reprinted editorial page "All-Negro Comics: Presenting Another First in Negro History" from ''All-Negro Comics'' #1
In 1947, the ''Record'' went out of business and sold its assets to the '' Philadelphia Bulletin'' after a drawn-out
strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
.


References


External links


Public Record archives
(1870-72 as of October 2014), at
Fultonhistory.com Fultonhistory.com or Old Fulton NY Postcards is an archival historic newspaper website of over 1,000 New York newspapers, along with collections from other states and Canada. As of February 2018, the website had almost 50 million scanned newspap ...

''Philadelphia Record'' May-June 1915
(as of October 2014) at Fultonhistory.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia Record Publications established in 1877 Publications disestablished in 1947 Defunct newspapers of Philadelphia 1877 establishments in Pennsylvania 1947 disestablishments in Pennsylvania