''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star''. The paper was renamed several times before becoming ''Washington Star'' by the late 1970s. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman. On August 7, 1981, after 128 years, the ''Washington Star'' ceased publication and filed for bankruptcy. In the bankruptcy sale, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' purchased the land and buildings owned by the ''Star'', including its printing presses.

History

''The Washington Star'' was founded on December 16, 1852, by Captain Joseph Borrows Tate. It was originally headquartered in Washington's "Newspaper Row" on

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD ...

. Tate named the paper ''The Daily Evening Star''. In 1853,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

surveyor and newspaper entrepreneur William Douglas Wallach purchased the paper, and in 1854 shortened the name to ''The Evening Star'' and introduced ''The Sunday Star'' edition. As the sole owner of the paper for 14 years, Wallach built up the paper by capitalizing on reporting of 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 state ...

, among other things. In 1867, a three-man consortium of Crosby Stuart Noyes,

Samuel H. Kauffmann Samuel Hay Kaufmann (April 30, 1829 – March 15, 1906) was an American newspaper publisher who was the former owner of the ''Washington Star''. He also served as president of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and is credited with helping to expand bo ...

and George W. Adams acquired the paper, with each of the investors putting up $33,333.33. The Noyes-Kauffmann-Adams interests would own the paper for the next four generations. In 1907, subsequent Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman joined the ''Star''. Berryman was most famous for his 1902 cartoon of President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, "Drawing the Line in Mississippi," which spurred the creation of the

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy be ...

. During his career, Berryman drew thousands of cartoons commenting on American Presidents and politics. Presidential figures included former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. The cartoons satirized both Democrats and Republicans and covered topics such as drought, farm relief, and

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing a ...

; representation of the District of Columbia in Congress; labor strikes and legislation; campaigning and elections; political patronage; European coronations; the America's Cup; and the Atomic Bomb. Berryman's career continued at the ''Star'' until he collapsed on the lobby floor one morning in 1949 and died shortly after of a heart ailment. The next major change to the newspaper came in 1938, when the three owning families diversified their interests. On May 1, the ''Star'' purchased the M. A. Leese Radio Corporation and acquired Washington's oldest

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

, WMAL, in the process. Renamed the Evening Star Broadcasting Company, the 1938 acquisition would figure later in the 1981 demise of the newspaper. Evening Star Building

The ''Star''s influence and circulation peaked in the 1950s; it constructed a new printing plant in Southeast Washington capable of printing millions of copies, but found itself unable to cope with changing times. Nearly all top editorial and business staff jobs were held by members of the owning families, including a Kauffmann general manager who had gained a reputation for

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

, driving away advertisers. Suburbanization and competition with television news were other factors for declining circulation and staffing; Carl Bernstein reflected in his 2021 memoir that the ''Star'' "couldn't get the paper out to the newer postwar suburbs until late in the afternoon" because "delivery trucks got tied up in rush hour traffic." Meanwhile, ''

'' acquired and merged with its morning rival, the ''

Washington Times-Herald The ''Washington Times-Herald'' (1939–1954) was an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It was created by Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson of the Medill–McCormick–Patterson family (long-time owners of the ''Chicago Tribune'' ...

'', in 1954 and steadily drew readers and advertisers away from the falling ''Star''. By the 1960s, the ''Post'' was Washington's leading newspaper. In 1972, the ''Star'' purchased and absorbed one of Washington's few remaining competing newspapers, ''

The Washington Daily News ''The Washington Daily News'' was an afternoon tabloid-size newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. History ''The Washington Daily News'' was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The newspaper was born on November 8, 1921, an ...

.'' For a short period of time after the merger, both ''"The Evening Star"'' and ''"The Washington Daily News"'' mastheads appeared on the front page. The paper soon was retitled ''"Washington Star News"'' and finally, ''"The Washington Star"'' by the late 1970s. In 1973, the ''Star'' was targeted for clandestine purchase by interests close to the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

government in its

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loa ...

war, in what became known as the Muldergate Scandal. The ''Star'', whose editorial policy had always been conservative, was seen as favorable to South Africa at the time. In 1974, pro-apartheid Michigan newspaper publisher John P. McGoff attempted to purchase ''The Washington Star'' for $25 million, but he and his family received death threats, and the sale did not go through. In early 1975, the Noyes-Kauffmann-Adams group sold its interests in the paper to Joe Allbritton, a Texas multimillionaire who was known as a corporate turnaround artist. Allbritton, who also owned Riggs Bank, then the most prestigious bank in the capital, planned to use profits from WMAL-AM-FM-TV to shore up the newspaper's finances. The

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

stymied him with rules on media cross-ownership, however. The FCC had recently banned common ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets, while grandfathering existing clusters. Due to the manner in which Allbritton's takeover was structured, the FCC considered it to be an ownership change, and stripped the WMAL stations of their grandfathered protection. WMAL-AM-FM was sold off in 1977, and the TV station was renamed

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also siste ...

. On October 1, 1975, press operators at the ''Post'' went on strike, severely damaging all printing presses before leaving the building. Allbritton would not assist

Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, wh ...

, the owner of the ''Post'', in any way, refusing to print his rival's papers on the ''Stars presses, since that likely would have caused the ''Star'' to be struck by the press operators as well. Allbritton also had major disagreements with editor Jim Bellows over editorial policy; Bellows left the ''Star'' for the ''

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. It was formed when the afternoon ' ...

''. Unable to make the ''Star'' profitable, Allbritton explored other options, including a joint operating agreement with the ''Post''.

Final years

On February 2, 1978, Time Inc. purchased the ''Star'' for $20 million.Lynton, Stephen J
''"Washington Star'' Sold To ''Time'' for $20 Million,"
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' (February 4, 1978). Their flagship magazine, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'', was the arch-rival to ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'', which was published by The Washington Post Company. Time Inc.'s president, James R. Shepley, convinced ''Time'''s board of directors that owning a daily newspaper in the national capital would bring a unique sense of prestige and political access. The paper's labor unions agreed to work concessions that Shepley demanded. An effort to draw readers with localized special "zonal" metro news sections, however, did little to help circulation. The ''Star'' lacked the resources to produce the sort of ultra-local coverage zonal editions demanded and ended up running many of the same regional stories in all of its local sections. An economic downturn resulted in monthly losses of over $1 million. Overall, the ''Star'' lost some $85 million following the acquisition before Time's board decided to give up. On August 7, 1981, after 128 years, ''The Washington Star'' ceased publication. In the bankruptcy sale, the ''Post'' purchased the land and buildings owned by the ''Star'', including its printing presses. Many of the people who worked for the ''Star'' went to work for the newly formed ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'', which began operations in May 1982, almost a year after the ''Star'' went out of business. Writers who worked at the ''Star'' in its last days included Nick Adde, Stephen Aug, Michael Isikoff,

Howard Kurtz Howard Alan Kurtz (; born August 1, 1953) is an American journalist and author best known for his coverage of the media. Kurtz is the host of Fox News's '' Media Buzz'' program, the successor to ''Fox News Watch''. He is the former media writer f ...

Fred Hiatt Frederick Samuel Hiatt (April 30, 1955 – December 6, 2021) was an American journalist. He was the editorial page editor of '' The Washington Post'', where he oversaw the newspaper's opinion pages and wrote editorials and a biweekly column. He ...

, Sheilah Kast,

Jane Mayer Jane Meredith Mayer (born 1955) is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the Uni ...

, Chris Hanson,

Jeremiah O'Leary Jeremiah Aloysius Patrick O'Leary, Jr. (1919 – December 19, 1993) was an American newspaper reporter and columnist. Biography He was born into a family of journalists. His father was a reporter, an uncle was an editor of the ''Washington Times ...

, Chuck Conconi, Crispin Sartwell,

Maureen Dowd Maureen Brigid Dowd (; born January 14, 1952) is an American columnist for ''The New York Times'' and an author. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Dowd worked for '' The Washington Star'' and ''Time'', writing news, sports and feature articles ...

, novelist Randy Sue Coburn,

Michael DeMond Davis Michael DeMond Davis (January 1939 – November 13, 2003) was a journalist and a pioneer in African-American journalism, opening the doors for many African-American writers. In 1992, Davis authored ''Black American Women in Olympic Track and ...

, Lance Gay, Jules Witcover,

Jack Germond John Worthen Germond (January 30, 1928 – August 14, 2013), known as Jack Germond, was an American journalist, author, and pundit whose career spanned over 50 years. Germond wrote for the ''Washington Star'' and the ''Baltimore Sun'', and was ...

, Judy Bachrach, Lyle Denniston, Fred Barnes, Gloria Borger, Kate Sylvester, and Mary McGrory. The paper's staff also included editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant from 1976 to 1981.

Washington Star Syndicate

The Washington Star Syndicate operated from 1965 to 1979. The newspaper had sporadically

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

material over the years — for instance, Gibson "Gib" Crockett, a ''Washington Star'' editorial cartoonist, was syndicated from 1947 to 1967 — but didn't become official until May 1965, when it purchased the remaining

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...

, and features of the

George Matthew Adams Service George Matthew Adams (August 23, 1878 – October 29, 1962) was an American newspaper columnist and founder of the George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service, which syndicated comic strips and columns to newspapers for five decades. His own writings w ...

(Adams had died in 1962). The Washington Star Syndicate distributed the columns of

James Beard James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 23, 1985) was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, ...

William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

, James J. Kilpatrick, and Mary McGrory, among others. It began by syndicating a few strips — including Edwina Dumm's strips ''

Alec the Great ''Alec the Great'' was a syndicated newspaper gag panel created by Edwina Dumm and featuring a dog character (as did her other comic strip, '' Cap Stubbs and Tippie''). It ran from 1931 to 1969. Characters and story In ''Alec the Great'', Dumm il ...

'' and ''

Cap Stubbs and Tippie ''Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip created by the cartoonist Edwina Dumm that ran for 48 years, from August 21, 1918, to September 3, 1966.Goulart, Ron. ''The Funnies:100 years of American comic strips''. Holbrook, Mas ...

'' — it had inherited from the Adams Service; one successful strip the syndicate launched was Morrie Brickman's ''The Small Society'', which was published in over 300 papers, including 35 foreign publications. Otherwise, from about 1971 onward, the syndicate no longer distributed comic strips. In February 1978, the Washington Star Syndicate was sold (along with its parent company) to Time Inc. In May 1979, the Universal Press Syndicate acquired the Star Syndicate from the remaining assets of the Washington Star Company.''"Washington Star'' Syndicate Sold To Kansas City's Universal Press,"
''

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 ...

'' (May 20, 1979), p. 37. As a result of this merger, beginning in June 1979, popular existing Universal Press strips like ''

Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title characte ...

'', ''

Cathy ''Cathy'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life—food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes ...

'', and '' Tank McNamara'' left the pages of ''

'' and began appearing in ''The Washington Star''. (When the ''Star'' folded in August 1981, those strips returned to the ''Post''.)

Washington Star Syndicate strips and panels

* ''

'' by Edwina Dumm (May 1965–1969)—inherited from the

* ''Buenos Dias'' by Ed Nofziger (May 1965 – 1967)—inherited from the George Matthew Adams Service * ''

'' by Edwina DummEdwina entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Accessed Dec. 4, 2017. (May 30, 1965 – September 3, 1966)—inherited from the George Matthew Adams Service * ''The Small Society'' by Morrie Brickman (1966–1979)—continued by Universal Press Syndicate until 1984 and then

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

* ''The Smith Family'' by George and Virginia Smith (1951–1994)—inherited from the

, syndication continued by Universal Press Syndicate. * '' Stoker the Broker'' by Henry Boltinoff—acquired from Columbia Features * ''Uncle Charlie'' by

Peter Laing Peter Laing (born 5 October 1984) is a South African cricketer. He played in 17 first-class and 16 List A matches for Boland and Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, R ...

(1965–1978)—inherited from the George Matthew Adams ServicePeter Laing entry
Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved Aug. 11, 2020.

Pulitzer Prizes

* 1944: Clifford K. Berryman, for Editorial Cartooning, " But Where Is the Boat Going?" * 1950:

James T. Berryman James Thomas Berryman (June 8, 1902 – August 12, 1971) was an American political cartoonist who won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. Born in Washington, D.C., Berryman was the son of Clifford Berryman, also a Pulitzer Prize-win ...

, Editorial Cartooning, for " All Set for a Super-Secret Session in Washington." * 1958: George Beveridge,

Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting is awarded to an example of "local reporting that illuminates significant issues or concerns." This Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1948. Like most Pulitzers the winner receives a $15,000 award. Histor ...

, for "Metro, City of Tomorrow." * 1959: Mary Lou Werner,

, "For her comprehensive year-long coverage of the (school) integration crisis." * 1960: Miriam Ottenberg,

, "For a series of seven articles exposing a used-car racket in Washington, D.C., that victimized many unwary buyers." * 1966: Haynes Johnson, for National Reporting, for his distinguished coverage of the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

conflict centered about

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

, and particularly his reporting of its aftermath. * 1974:

James R. Polk James Ray Polk (September 12, 1937 – July 15, 2021) was an American journalist, known for his investigative reporting and coverage of American political corruption and fraud. Over the course of his career, he covered the Raymond Donovan inv ...

, National Reporting, for his disclosure of alleged irregularities in the financing of the campaign to re-elect President Nixon in 1972. * 1975: Mary McGrory, Commentary, for her commentary on public affairs during 1974. * 1979: Edwin M. Yoder Jr.,

Editorial Writing The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, ...

. * 1981: Jonathan Yardley,

Criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...

, for book reviews.

References

General

Citations

External links

Clifford K. Berryman Digital Collection
Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
''Daily Evening Star'' (1852–1854)
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

''Evening Star'' (1854–1972)
at the

Archives, curated collections, and reproductions

''Daily Evening Star'' :

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

(

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It wa ...

) :

International Standard Serial Number An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs a ...

(

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

) : Library of Congress Control Number ''Evening Star'' and ''The Sunday Star'' :

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) :

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) : Library of Congress Control Number ''The Morning Star'' :

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) ''The Washington Daily News'' :

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) :

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) : Library of Congress Control Number ''The Evening Star and the Washington Daily News'' :

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) ''The Washington Star'' :

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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington Star, The 1852 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1981 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Washington Star Syndicate Defunct newspapers published in Washington, D.C. History of Washington, D.C. Publications disestablished in 1981 Publications established in 1852 Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers