Daily Worker

Last updated
Daily Worker
Daily Worker.pdf
No. 254 of the Daily Worker (November 7, 1927)
TypeDaily newspaper
Formatbroadsheet and tabloid
Founded1924;100 years ago (1924)
Political alignmentCommunist; Socialist
Language English
Ceased publicationJanuary 1958
Headquarters
Circulation various

The Daily Worker was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. [1] Publication began in 1924. [2] It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the CPUSA; it also reflected a broader spectrum of left-wing opinion. At its peak, the newspaper achieved a circulation of 35,000. Contributors to its pages included Robert Minor and Fred Ellis (cartoonists), Lester Rodney (sports editor), David Karr, Richard Wright, John L. Spivak, Peter Fryer, Woody Guthrie and Louis F. Budenz.

Contents

History

Origins

The origins of the Daily Worker were with the weekly Ohio Socialist published by the Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919. The Ohio party joined the nascent Communist Labor Party of America (CLP) at the 1919 Emergency National Convention.

The Ohio Socialist only used whole numbers. Its final issue was #94 November 19, 1919. The Toiler continued this numbering, even though a typographical error made its debut issue #85 November 26, 1919. Beginning sometime in 1921 the volume number IV was added, perhaps reflecting the publications fourth year in print, though its issue numbers continued the whole number scheme. The final edition of the Toiler was Vol IV #207 January 28, 1922. The Worker continued the Toilers numbering during its run Vol. IV #208 February 2, 1922 to Vol. VI #310 January 12, 1924. The first edition of Daily worker was numbered Vol. I #311. [3]

The Ohio Socialist became Toiler in November 1919. In 1920, with the CLP going underground, Toiler became the party's "aboveground" newspaper published by "The Toiler Publishing Association." It remained as the Cleveland aboveground publication of the CLP and its successors until February 1922.[ citation needed ]

In December 1921 the "aboveground" Workers Party of America was founded and the Toiler merged with Workers Council of the Workers' Council of the United States to found the six page weekly The Worker.

This became the Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924. [3]

In 1927, the newspaper moved from Chicago to New York. [4]

May Day parade float with statue reading the Daily Worker May Day parade float with male statue reading the "Daily Worker".jpg
May Day parade float with statue reading the Daily Worker

Beginning in the Popular Front period of the 1930s, the paper broadened its coverage of the arts and entertainment. In 1935 it established a sports page, with contributions from David Karr, the page was edited and frequently written by Lester Rodney. The paper's sports coverage combined enthusiasm for baseball with the usual Marxist social critique of capitalist society and bourgeois attitudes. It advocated the desegregation of professional sports.[ citation needed ]

Post-World War II

After a short hiatus, the party published a weekend paper called The Worker from 1958 until 1968. A Tuesday edition called The Midweek Worker was added in 1961 and also continued until 1968, when production was accelerated.[ citation needed ]

Two newspapers and a merger

In 1968 the publication was resumed as a New York daily paper, now titled The Daily World. In 1986, the paper merged with the West Coast weekly paper, the People's World . The new People’s Daily World published from 1987 until 1991, when daily publication was abandoned.[ citation needed ]

Contemporary claims of successors

The new paper was cut back to a weekly issue and was retitled People's Weekly World (later retitled to People's World as to de-emphasize the weekly component). Print publication of the People's World ceased in 2010 in favor of an online edition.[ citation needed ]As of 2012, People's World claims that, "Peoplesworld.org is a daily news website of, for and by the 99% and the direct descendant of the Daily Worker." Its publisher is Long View Publishing Company. The online newspaper is a member of the International Labor Communications Association and is indexed in the Alternative Press Index. Its staff belong to the Newspaper Guild/CWA, AFL–CIO. [5]

Another publication, both in print as The Worker and online as Daily Worker USA states that it is "Continuing The Daily Worker, Founded in 1924." The Worker is the Publication of the Central Committee of the Party of Communists USA, which itself claims to be the continuing the legacy of the old CPUSA, and The Worker has been printed and distributed since at least 2020. [6] [7]

Masthead

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

Pamphlets

Before the Party established the Workers Library Publishers in late 1927, the party used the Daily Worker Publishing Company imprint to publish its pamphlets.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Admin (2009-08-25). "About People's World". People's World. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  2. Pederson, Vernon (January 11, 2008). "Take It As Red". On The Media for National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Founded in 1924, the Daily Worker – which ceased to be a daily 50 years ago – was the de facto house organ of American Communism.
  3. 1 2 Goldwater, Walter Radical periodicals in America 1890-1950 New Haven, Yale University Library 1964 pp.10, 30, 42, 46
  4. "Guide to the Daily Worker and Daily World Photographs Collection". Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive. September 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  5. "About the People's World". People's World. 2009-08-25. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  6. "About Us". The Worker. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  7. "Home". The Worker. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. New York: Random House. pp. 206–207, 218–229, 252–259. ISBN   978-0-89526-789-4. LCCN   52005149.
  9. Morris, George (1952). A Tale of Two Waterfronts. Daily Worker. p. 31. Retrieved 12 June 2021.

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