The ''American Eagle'', later known also as ''Murray Eagle'' and ''The Green Sheet'', was a newspaper that covered central

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...

, especially the city of

Murray, Utah Murray () is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, the city had a population of 50,637 as of the 2020 United States Census. Murray shares borde ...

.Robert F. Karolevitz ''From quill to computer: the story of America's community newspapers: commemorating the centennial of the

National Newspaper Association The National Newspaper Association (NNA) is a Pensacola, Florida–based non-profit newspaper trade association founded in 1885. A historical marker commemorates its history.https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=46972 It published the ''National Printer - ...

.'' Pine Hill Press, 1985

History

The beginnings of ''The American Eagle'' of Murray, Utah, are shrouded in mystery.J. Cecil Alter. ''Early Utah journalism: a half century of forensic warfare, waged by the West's most militant press.'' Publisher Utah state historical society, 1938 The newspaper may have been published as early as 1891 as the ''American''. Other sources list 1896 as the beginning publication date, before Murray was incorporated in 1903. The first known editor was Martin A. Willumsen. The ''Murray Eagle'' and '' Midvale Journal'' started out as the ''American Eagle''. By 1908 the newspaper was named the ''Murray Eagle''. During the 1920s, Peter K. Nielsen, the editor and business manager, began to expand the newspaper's circulation area. P. K. Nielsen was foreman in the composing department of ''The Bikuben'', the Danish paper of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. He was then with the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

,'' at which time he became connected with the Eagle Publishing Company at Murray, which was then publishing only the American Eagle, with a subscription list of about four hundred and fifty. Since then the company took over or established the '' Sandy City Star'', the '' Midvale Times'' and the '' Magna and Garfield Messenger'' with the total subscription becoming nearly three thousand. The paper maintained an independent political attitude. Jim and Bette Cornwell came from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

to purchase the ''Murray Eagle'' in the mid-1950s and from it spun off the ''Green Sheet'', named for the tint of paper of the front page. Their weeklies supplemented the Salt Lake

dailies In filmmaking, dailies or rushes are the raw, film editing, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term "dailies" comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was dev ...

by dealing with readers on a more local level than possible in the metropolitan press. They also helped give their communities an identity in the

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

. The first green newspaper hit Murray's streets in 1960. Eventually, the paper forsook the green paper for traditional white due newsprint shortages and times when newsprint manufacturers didn't want to put green dye in their paper. Even being printed on white paper, the newspaper retained the Green Sheet name. Cornwell, worked alongside his wife Bette to publish the Green Sheet once a week for another quarter of a century. The Cornwells sold out in 1984 to a young Eastern publisher, Peter Bernhard, a principal in Diversified Suburban Newspapers. Bernhard was for several years an absentee owner; busy running other papers in

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...

and

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Even after Cornwell sold the paper in 1984, the local news tint of choice remained green for 10 more years until the Murray Eagle was sold to another owner in 1995. Jeffrey B. Hatch, the former president and general manager of

KUTV KUTV (channel 2) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) and St. George, Utah, St. George–licensed MyNetwor ...

Television in Salt Lake City, joined John N. Ward, an independent public relations consultant and member of the Murray City Council in purchasing the newspaper and returned the ''Murray Eagle'' name back to the ''Green Sheet'', the name it published under in the 1970s-1980s.Veteran Publisher Again Shows Boldness, Vision. Milton Hollstein

, May 30, 1994 The Murray ''Green Sheet'' had home delivery, and combined circulation of 24,500. The papers were free except for mail subscriptions. The Green Sheet eventually folded in the early 2000s (decade) Two notable journalists wrote for the ''Murray Eagle''.

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winning columnist Jack Anderson began his career as a teenage journalist covering Murray's local beat. He eventually worked for the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and was known for his muckraking columns, especially during the

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

era. Ethel Bradford was a favorite local columnist who received national recognition for her folksy views in her "Out My Window" column.Murray Woman is Runner-Up for Press Award.

Thursday, July 4, 1991

References

External links

Utah Digital Newspapers Project: ''Murray Eagle''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Sheet Defunct newspapers published in Utah 1891 establishments in Utah Territory Newspapers established in 1891