The Mercury (defunct Oregon newspaper)

Last updated

The Mercury, later The Sunday Mercury, was a weekly newspaper founded in Salem, Oregon in 1869, [1] and moved to Portland a few years later. [2] Oregon writer Homer Davenport described approaching the Mercury when he arrived in Portland as a young man, and being sent to New Orleans to cover and draw pictures of the Fitzsimmons-Dempsey fight. [3]

The Mercury was best known for being the subject of an 1893 libel lawsuit [4] involving attorney and writer C.E.S. Wood. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled against O. P. Mason and B. P. Watson, and the newspaper itself was turned over to receiver A. A. Rosenthal. Rosenthal promised to "make a decent paper of it," but the paper was raided by the Portland district attorney's office later that year and suppressed for publishing offensive material. A November 19, 1893 Oregonian editorial praised the actions against a publication "insidiously demoralizing as well as unspeakably offensive." [5]

The paper continued into the 20th century, with C. H. Clute [6] and William J. Swope in charge. [7] It was described as a legitimate enterprise, [6] but elsewhere it was described as a "sensational" paper given to "gossips and scandal." In 1899 a Mr. Cummins, described as "head of a respectable family," accused Swope, who was then publisher, editor, and proprietor of the paper of libel and slander, and a warrant was issued for Swope's arrest. [8] Newspapers around the state continued to mention the Mercury until at least the early 1930s, often continuing to reference its legal entanglements and its propensity for sensationalism. [9] [10] [11] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Oregon Journal</i> Daily newspaper in Portland, 1902 to 1982

The Oregon Journal was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The Journal was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's East Oregonian newspaper, after a group of Portlanders convinced Jackson to help in the reorganization of the Portland Evening Journal. The firm owned several radio stations in the Portland area. In 1961, the Journal was purchased by S.I. Newhouse and Advance Publications, owners also of The Oregonian, the city's morning newspaper.

<i>Statesman Journal</i> Major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States

The Statesman Journal is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the Oregon Statesman, it later merged with the Capital Journal to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oregon. The Statesman Journal is distributed in Salem, Keizer, and portions of the mid-Willamette Valley. The average weekday circulation was 27,859, with Sunday's readership listed at 36,323, in 2012. It is owned, along with the neighboring Stayton Mail and Silverton Appeal Tribune, by the national Gannett Company.

<i>The Astorian</i> Newspaper in Astoria, Oregon

The Astorian, formerly known as The Daily Astorian, is a newspaper, published in Astoria, Oregon, United States, established in 1873, and in publication continuously since then. The paper serves the Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside area, the Long Beach Peninsula, and surrounding areas. The newspaper is published three times each week and is owned by EO Media Group.

<i>Daily Journal of Commerce</i> American newspaper in Portland, Oregon

The Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) is an American newspaper published Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Portland, Oregon. It features business, construction, real estate, legal news and public notices. It is a member of American Court & Commercial Newspapers Inc., and the CCN News Service, National Newspaper Association, International Newspaper Promotion Association, Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, The Associated General Contractors of America, Oregon-Columbia chapter, and Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. DJC is owned by BridgeTower Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William W. Chapman</span> American politician

William Williams Chapman was an American politician and lawyer in Oregon and Iowa. He was born and raised in Virginia. He served as a United States Attorney in Iowa when it was part of the Michigan and Wisconsin territories, and then represented the Iowa Territory in the United States House of Representatives. He later immigrated to the Oregon Country, where he served in the Oregon Territorial Legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binford & Mort</span> Publisher based in Oregon, United States

Binford & Mort Publishing is a book publishing company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1930, the company was previously known as Metropolitan Press and Binfords & Mort. At one time they were the largest book publisher in the Pacific Northwest. The privately owned company focuses on books from the Pacific Northwest, and has printed many important titles covering Oregon's history.

<i>Portland Telegram</i>

The Portland Telegram was a daily newspaper serving Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon from 1877 until it was acquired by, and merged into, the Scripps-owned Portland News in 1931. The News had started out as the East Side News under secretive circumstances in 1906. The Telegram was a Democratic paper, despite its founder being a staunch Republican.

The Central Oregonian is a twice-weekly newspaper published in Prineville in the U.S. state of Oregon.

The Lincoln County Leader was a weekly American newspaper published in Toledo, Oregon from 1893 to 1987. The newspaper was originally published as a Democratic paper, but its party affiliation changed with the ownership. For many years the newspaper was the primary journal in Lincoln County.

The Albany Journal was a short-lived newspaper serving Albany in the U.S. state of Oregon in the 1860s. The Albany Publishing Company founded the paper, which, according to scholar George Turnbull "served the Republican sentiment," on March 12, 1863, but abandoned it after editor William McPherson was elected state printer in 1866, prompting him to move to Salem. Pickett & Co. revived the paper briefly in 1867, but went bankrupt the following year.

Oregon Deutsche Zeitung, launched in 1867, was the first of several German language newspapers published in the U.S. state of Oregon.

The Portland Bee was a Republican newspaper in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon in the late 19th century. It was launched in November 1875, the same year as the Portland Daily Bulletin disincorporated; like the Bulletin, it had both daily and weekly editions. It initially had two daily editions, and circulated 1,000 free copies.

Journalism in the U.S. state of Oregon had its origins from the American settlers of the Oregon Country in the 1840s. This was decades after explorers like Robert Gray and Lewis and Clark first arrived in the region, several months before the first newspaper was issued in neighboring California, and several years before the United States formally asserted control of the region by establishing the Oregon Territory.

The Silverton Appeal Tribune was a weekly newspaper published in Silverton in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was published by the Statesman Journal; both papers, along with the nearby Stayton Mail, are owned by the national Gannett Company.

The Times-Journal is a newspaper established in 1886, published in Condon in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, and reports a circulation of 1306 to 1443. The paper is published weekly on Thursdays.

The East Side News was a newspaper serving Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon, founded in 1906. It was financed by the Scripps-Canfield publishing house of Seattle, but in complete secrecy, due to a promise E. W. Scripps had made to Sam Jackson of the Oregon Journal, not to compete in the Portland market. In spite of low circulation in its early days, the News constructed a building on Clay St. at a cost of $50,000.

Oregon Exchanges was an American newspaper published by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications (SOJC) in the early 20th century. It initially described itself as a "Newspaper for Newspaper Men"; by 1930, it had adopted the gender-neutral slogan "For the Newspaper Folk of the State of Oregon." Its first issue was published in June 1917, the year after the school's founding. By the October issue, it was announced that students in the editing class would edit the publication. By 1920, students were producing the newspaper as part of their coursework in a course titled "Practical Editing." The paper was reportedly greeted with much praise at a 1922 convention of Sigma Delta Chi, a national journalism society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Asahel Clarke</span> American journalist

Samuel Asahel Clarke was a poet and an early journalist of the U.S. state of Oregon. Born in Cuba and educated in New York City, Clarke went to California to prospect for gold in 1849, and then to Oregon in 1850, where he lived initially in Portland prior to its incorporation. He filed a land claim south of Salem, which became his permanent home; he later built up an orchard there. He married Harriet T. Buckingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel L. Simpson</span> American poet (1845–1899)

Samuel Leonidas Simpson (1845–1899) was an American poet, known for his works about the U.S. state of Oregon. Simpson was born in Missouri on November 10, 1845, moving to Oregon with his parents the following year. His parents were Ben and Nancy (née Cooper) Simpson; he married Julia Humphrey in 1867. Simpson graduated from Willamette University in 1866. He served for four months that year as editor of the Salem Statesman, until his father was compelled to sell the newspaper. He worked as an attorney for several years. He published poems and short stories in regional periodicals. He died in June 1899. His works were posthumously collected in a volume titled The Gold-Gated West: Songs and Poems, published in 1910.

References

  1. ↑ Turnbull, George Stanley (1939). "Journalism in Salem"  . History of Oregon Newspapers  . Binfords and Mort.
  2. ↑ Ludington, Flora Belle (1927). "The Newspapers of Oregon, 1846-1870"  . Oregon Historical Quarterly . 26.
  3. ↑ Davenport, Homer. "Chapter 5"  . The Country Boy.
  4. ↑ Gravelle, Kim (20 Feb 1965). "Old Scandal Sheet Shown". The Capital Journal. p. 26.
  5. ↑ Turnbull, George Stanley (1939). "Libel and Violence Bear Fruit"  . History of Oregon Newspapers  . Binfords and Mort.
  6. 1 2 Gaston, Joseph. Portland, Oregon: Its History and Builders  . Vol. 1.
  7. ↑ "Portland Sunday Mercury". The Oregon Daily Journal. 4 April 1913. p. 2.
  8. ↑ "For Criminal Libel: W. A. Cummins, Purser of the Hoag Prosecutes a Portland Newspaper". Albany Herald-Disseminator. 25 May 1899. p. 5.
  9. ↑ "File Petitions in Guardian Bankruptcy Units". Medford Mail Tribune. July 3, 1931. p. 8.
  10. ↑ "Local News in Sunday Mercury". The Pendleton East Oregonian. July 10, 1911. p. 8.
  11. ↑ "Held on Charge of Extortion: Solicitor for Sunday Mercury Arrested with Marked Coin in Possession". The Oregon Daily Journal. April 4, 1913. p. 2.
  12. ↑ "Sunday Mercury Employes Accused". The Roseburg News-Review. March 14, 1932. p. 5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.