Field Newspaper Syndicate

Last updated
Field Newspaper Syndicate
Formerly
  • Chicago Sun Syndicate (1941–1944
  • Field Enterprises Syndicate (1944–c. 1950)
  • Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate (c. 1950–1967)
  • Publishers-Hall Syndicate (1967–1975)
  • News America Syndicate (1984–1986)
  • North America Syndicate (1986–1988)
Type Subsidiary
Industry Print syndication
FoundedDecember 1941;81 years ago (1941-12)
Founder Marshall Field III
Defunct1988;35 years ago (1988)
Fatemerged into King Features (1988)
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
U.S.
Area served
 United States
Key people
Russ Stewart
Henry Baker
ProductsComic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons
Owners

The Field Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated independently from 1941 to 1984, for a good time under the name the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. The service was founded by Marshall Field III and was part of Field Enterprises. The syndicate was most well known for Steve Canyon , but also launched such popular, long-running strips as The Berrys , From 9 To 5 , Rivets , and Rick O'Shay . Other features included the editorial cartoons of Bill Mauldin and Jacob Burck, and the "Ask Ann Landers" advice column.

Contents

History

The Chicago Sun Syndicate was founded in December 1941, concurrent with the founding of Marshall Field III's Chicago Sun newspaper. Long-time syndication veteran Henry Baker was installed as manager. [1] Comic-strip historian Allan Holtz has written regarding the origins of the Field Syndicate and its relationship to the rest of the company:

Field . . . was a syndicate initially created by Marshall Field to sell features from his Chicago Sun newspaper. When Field started the Sun he found that Chicago was pretty much all sewed up with exclusive contracts on the better features. He resolved to purchase his own features and market them. Ironically, the Field Enterprises syndicate ended up being a better moneymaker than the Sun itself. It has been said that the flagship feature, Steve Canyon , was responsible for keeping the Sun afloat for many years. [2]

Field formed Field Enterprises in August 1944, [3] and the syndicate became known as Field Enterprises Syndicate. One of the first major strips syndicated by Field was the hugely popular Mutt and Jeff (first launched in 1907), which moved over from the Bell Syndicate-North American Newspaper Alliance. With the Chicago Sun and Chicago Daily Times merger in January 1948, the syndicate absorbed the Chicago Times Syndicate, [4] and installed its general manager, Russ Stewart, as head of Field Enterprises. [5]

At some point circa 1950, the Field Syndicate changed its name to the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. [6]

In 1963 Field Enterprises and New York Herald Tribune publisher John Hay Whitney acquired the Chicago-based Publishers Newspaper Syndicate, [7] merging syndication operations with the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate, the New York Herald Tribune Syndicate, and the syndicate of the Chicago Daily News [8] (a newspaper that had been acquired by Field Enterprises in 1959).

In 1967, Field Enterprises acquired Robert M. Hall's Hall Syndicate, merging it with Publishers to form the Publishers-Hall Syndicate, and thus taking on distribution of such popular, long-running strips as Mary Worth , Steve Roper , Penny , Kerry Drake , Rex Morgan, M.D. , Judge Parker , Miss Peach , B.C. , and The Wizard of Id .

In 1975, syndication operations absorbed Publishers-Hall, and were renamed the Field Newspaper Syndicate, [9] taking on such strips as Dennis the Menace , Funky Winkerbean , Mark Trail , and Momma .

The operation was renamed News America Syndicate (NAS) in 1984, after the company was purchased by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. [10] Richard S. Newcombe (coming over from the Los Angeles Times Syndicate) was named President of NAS, which at that point was considered the third-most powerful syndicate, after King Features and United Media. [11] Hearst bought the syndicate in 1987 and renamed it North America Syndicate. The pending sale of NAS (which was first reported in October 1986), [12] prompted Newcombe to leave the company in January 1987 and, using financial backing from London-based publisher Robert Maxwell, form Creators Syndicate before the close of the NAS sale. [13] [14] Creators Syndicate originated on February 13, 1987. [15] Within a month, Creators acquired the syndication rights to B.C. and Ask Ann Landers . [16]

North America Syndicate is now part of Hearst's syndication division, King Features Syndicate . [17] [11]

Field Newspaper Syndicate comic strips

Strips that originated with Chicago Daily Times / Chicago Sun Syndicate / Field Enterprises / Field Newspaper Syndicate / Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate:

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Steve Canyon</i> Comic strip

Steve Canyon is an American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon ran from January 13, 1947, until June 4, 1988. It ended shortly after Caniff's death. Caniff won the Reuben Award for the strip in 1971.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newspaper Enterprise Association</span> American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service

The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news service to the Scripps Howard News Service; it later evolved into a general syndicate best known for syndicating the comic strips Alley Oop, Our Boarding House, Freckles and His Friends, The Born Loser, Frank and Ernest, and Captain Easy / Wash Tubbs; in addition to an annual Christmas comic strip. Along with United Feature Syndicate, the NEA was part of United Media from 1978 to 2011, and is now a division of Andrews McMeel Syndication. The NEA once selected college All-America teams, and presented awards in professional football and professional [NBA] basketball.

Field Enterprises, Inc. was a private holding company that operated from the 1940s to the 1980s, founded by Marshall Field III and others, whose main assets were the Chicago Sun and Parade magazine. For various periods of time, Field Enterprises also owned publishers Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books, broadcaster Field Communications, and the World Book Encyclopedia. It also operated a syndication service, Field Newspaper Syndicate, whose most popular offering was the comic strip Steve Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunday comics</span>

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<i>Grin and Bear It</i>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Publishers-Hall Syndicate</span>

Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded by Robert M. Hall in 1944. Hall served as the company's president and general manager. Over the course of its operations, the company was known as, sequentially, the Hall Syndicate (1944–1946), the New York Post Syndicate (1946–1949), the Post-Hall Syndicate (1949–1955), the Hall Syndicate (1955–1967), and Publishers-Hall Syndicate (1967–1975). The syndicate was acquired by Field Enterprises in 1967, and merged into Field Newspaper Syndicate in 1975. Some of the more notable strips syndicated by the company include Pogo, Dennis the Menace, Funky Winkerbean, Mark Trail, The Strange World of Mr. Mum, and Momma, as well as the cartoons of Jules Feiffer.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribune Content Agency</span> American syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard S. Newcombe</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creators Syndicate</span> American media distributor

Creators Syndicate is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few successful independent syndicates founded since the 1930s and was the first syndicate to allow cartoonists ownership rights to their work. Creators Syndicate is based in Hermosa Beach, California.

A comic strip syndicate functions as an agent for cartoonists and comic strip creators, placing the cartoons and strips in as many newspapers as possible on behalf of the artist. A syndicate can annually receive thousands of submissions, from which only two or three might be selected for representation. In some cases, the work will be owned by the syndicate as opposed to the creator. The Guinness World Record for the world's most syndicated strip belongs to Jim Davis' Garfield, which at that point (2002) appeared in 2,570 newspapers, with 263 million readers worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sixta</span> American cartoonist, 1909-1986

George Sixta was an American cartoonist, best known for his syndicated comic strip, Rivets, about a wire-haired terrier. It was syndicated by Field Enterprises and its successor, News America Syndicate. He pronounced his name Sick-sta.

<i>Chicago Daily Times</i>

The Chicago Daily Times was a daily newspaper in Chicago from 1929 to 1948, and the city's first tabloid newspaper. It is best known as one of two newspapers which merged to form Chicago Sun-Times in 1948. For much of its existence, the paper also operated the small Chicago Times Syndicate, which distributed comic strips and columns.

The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns, comic strips, and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers. Notable comic strips that originated with Central Press include Brick Bradford, Etta Kett, and Muggs McGinnis.

The Register and Tribune Syndicate was a syndication service based in Des Moines, Iowa, that operated from 1922 to 1986, when it was acquired by King Features to become the Cowles Syndicate affiliate. At its peak, the Register and Tribune Syndicate offered newspapers some 60 to 75 features, including editorial cartoonist Herblock, comic strips, and commentaries by David Horowitz, Stanley Karnow, and others.

Publishers Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated from 1925 to 1967, when it merged with the Hall Syndicate. Publishers syndicated such long-lived comic strips as Big Chief Wahoo/Steve Roper, Mary Worth, Kerry Drake, Rex Morgan, M.D., Judge Parker, and Apartment 3-G.

The New York Herald Tribune Syndicate was the syndication service of the New York Herald Tribune. Syndicating comic strips and newspaper columns, it operated from c. 1914 to 1966. The syndicate's most notable strips were Mr. and Mrs., Our Bill, Penny, Miss Peach, and B.C. Syndicated columns included Walter Lippmann's Today and Tomorrow, Weare Holbrook's Soundings, George Fielding Eliot's military affairs column, and John Crosby's radio and television column. Irita Bradford Van Doren was book review editor for a time.

References

  1. ↑ "Who's Who Among Leading U.S. Syndicate Executives," Editor & Publisher (September 7, 1946). Archived at "News of Yore 1946: Syndicate Executives Profiled," Stripper's Guide (July 21, 2010).
  2. 1 2 Holtz, Allan (April 13, 2010). "Obscurity of the Day: Hit or Miss". Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Owns The Chicago Sun: Field Enterprises, Inc., Organized By Marshall Field", '' The New York Times , 1 September 1944, page 22.
  4. ↑ "Who’s Who Among Leading U.S. Syndicate Executives," Editor & Publisher (September 7, 1946), archived at "News of Yore 1946: Syndicate Executives Profiled," Stripper's Guide (July 21, 2010).
  5. ↑ Harvey, R.C. "Milton Caniff, Steve Canyon and the Fair Sex," The Comics Journal (JUL 19, 2012).
  6. 1 2 Hicks, Wilson (December 7, 1959). "Discoverer Remembers a Promising Pair". Life . p. 97 (unnumbered). Retrieved February 12, 2016. ...Milt gave up Terry to do his current strip, Steve Canyon, for what is now the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate.
  7. ↑ Stetson, Damon. "Herald Tribune Is Closing Its News Service: But Meyer Says Columns That Appeared in Paper Will Be in Merged Publication," New York Times (June 24, 1966).
  8. ↑ Toni Mendez Collection
  9. ↑ Riley, Sam G.Biographical Dictionary of American Newspaper Columnists (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995), p. 191.
  10. ↑ Friendly, Jonathan. "Murdoch Buys Chicago Sun-Times," The New York Times, 2 November 1983, page D1.
  11. 1 2 Storch, Charles. "Hearst To Buy Murdoch Syndicate," Chicago Tribune (December 25, 1986).
  12. ↑ United Press International (October 21, 1986). "2 New York Papers Deny Merger Rumor". South Florida Sun-Sentinel . p. 2D. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  13. ↑ Katina Alexander (June 14, 1987). "A Superhero For Cartoonists?". New York Times . p. 34. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  14. ↑ David Astor (January 17, 1987). "Richard S. Newcombe leaves top exec post at NAS". Editor & Publisher . 120: 46.
  15. ↑ Jeff Rowe (October 16, 1986). "Murdoch News America Group Is Up for Sale". Los Angeles Times . p. 4F. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  16. ↑ King Features Syndicate profile. Archived 2006-10-29 at the Wayback Machine via Hearst Corporation
  17. ↑ Goulart, Ron. "Jack and Betsy and Me" Archived 2013-10-13 at the Wayback Machine . Hogan's Alley (Bull Moose Publishing) (May 18, 2012). Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  18. ↑ Harry Sahle at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
  19. ↑ VIP: The Mad World of Virgil Partch (Fantagraphics Books, 2013), p. 137.
  20. 1 2 Betsy and Me at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015.
  21. ↑ Dragonetti, Joseph W. "Two Humor Features From Inquirer Staffers," Editor & Publisher (May 31, 1952). Archived at Stripper's Guide.
  22. ↑ "Helen L. Baldwin Dies; Music Teacher, Comic Strip Writer". Washington Post. 16 March 1998. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  23. ↑ Robert Baldwin entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Dec. 4, 2017.
  24. ↑ Field Enterprises, Inc., The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Monday 26 March 1956, Volume LXII, Number 178, page 9.
  25. ↑ William Fay entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Accessed Dec. 12, 2017.
  26. ↑ Holtz, Allan. "Obscurity of the Day: McGonigle of the Chronicle," Stripper's Guide (September 3, 2015).
  27. ↑ "Cartoon Laughs in a Medical Vein". The Daily Review (Hayward, California), January 19, 1966.
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