Two Men Built Tribune Tower

Cody Devoto
Civic Memorial High School, Bethalto

The Chicago Tribune, a leading American daily newspaper, has long been considered the dominant newspaper of the Middle West. It has prided itself on being politically liberal on matters such as slavery and communism. However, the Tribune was not always so successful. The paper was founded in 1847 by three Chicagoans, but it was left practically bankrupt by 1855. This is when Joseph Medill took over the business. Medill and other family members— especially his grandson—helped lead the newspaper into the twentieth century.

The Tribune Tower that stands on North Michigan Avenue testifies to the success of the Chicago newspaper.

Joseph Medill was born near St. John, Canada, in the province of New Brunswick. He moved with his family to a farm near Massilon, Ohio, in 1832. He was attracted to law and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He abandoned this profession three years later, when he published his first newspaper, a small Ohio frontier paper, at the age of 26. Later, he purchased the Coshoctan Whig and changed its name to the Republican. Being a founder of the Republican Party himself he is thus credited with coining the name. From 1851 to 1855 he published various papers in Cleveland before buying the Tribune with five other partners. As the paper grew in popularity, Medill saw it as an opportunity to promote his abolitionist views. The paper also became one of the first supporters of Abraham Lincoln's bid for the presidency. In fact, Medill and Lincoln became personal friends. Medill orchestrated demonstrations inside the convention hall in Chicago to rally support for Lincoln's nomination. With its extensive coverage of the Civil War, the Tribune gained a large number of subscribers under Medill as well.

In 1871 the most tragic event in Chicago's history struck—the Chicago Fire. Even though the Tribune's offices were burned to the ground, Medill was able to print a paper the next morning using a borrowed printing press. From this edition came Medill's most famous headline: "Cheer up Chicago, We will rise again." Like the Phoenix, Medill too, rose from the ashes as he was elected mayor in 1871, just weeks after the Great Fire. In no coincidence, he ran on the Fireproof Party ticket. One of his first actions was to prohibit the use of wood in constructing buildings in the central city area. Medill went on to buy controlling interest in the Tribune in 1874, and he dictated the paper's final copy from then until his death in 1899.

The Chicago Tribune survived under the leadership of Medill's immediate family. However, the paper really began to flourish again when it was taken over by Medill's grandson, Robert R. McCormick. McCormick was born in Chicago, but other places influenced him more profoundly. He lived in England as a child because his father was a diplomat there. While attending private school with British children, Robert used an American flag as his bedspread and remained a strong nationalist the rest of his life. He once said to his mother, "I am determined to have a great life and an adventurous one." After attending Yale, McCormick considered becoming an explorer; however, he chose a more familiar path by holding different public offices in Chicago and joining the bar in 1907. By the age of 25, Robert McCormick was already both a practicing attorney and a published author. After serving in World War I as an honorary colonel, Robert knew the future held more for him.

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In 1914 Robert's older brother, Medill McCormick, decided to devote his time entirely to politics and sold the Tribune to his younger brother. The "Colonel" quickly became a guiding force and a very colorful figure in American journalism. Unlike his grandfather, however, McCormick took a much more conservative approach to running the press. He maintained an extreme right-wing position through most of his career and held staunch nationalist-isolationist views. For example, he condemned labor unions and criticized the U.S. for participating in world affairs. He fiercely opposed Franklin Roosevelt's administration, and he fought against increases in government power and spending, although he rarely won. He was convinced that Roosevelt's majority was made up of "discordant elements," which was a gentle way of saying communists. The Colonel's typical work day included waking up at dawn and cutting pieces from the paper on his way to work. He would dictate editorials in the morning before meeting with the editors in the afternoon. He would eat lunch and then return to Tribune Tower around midnight to oversee the next day's paper. McCormick usually got home around two a.m., and he kept this routine for six days each week. In the end, McCormick built the Tribune company from a single newspaper to a multimedia organization of papers, radio and television stations, and newsprint manufactories. The Colonel tabbed the Tribune as the "world's greatest newspaper," which he later used to name his television station—WGN. Robert McCormick died in Wheaton, Illinois, in 1955—one hundred years after his grandfather Joseph Medill, bought the Chicago Tribune.

Thanks to the persistent hard work of the Medill McCormick family, the Chicago Tribune has been able to maintain its position as a leading newspaper. It survived the Civil War, which ripped the nation in two. It survived the Great Fire of 1871 that reduced its offices to rubble. It also survived the paper wars of the early 1900s and the 1940s—when its subscribers first totaled one million. Through this all it has achieved great loyalty among readers. It has continued to provide excellent coverage of Chicago, not to mention midwestern commerce, industry, agriculture, and society.—[From Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, The Colonel of Cantigny; "Teaching History Online," http://www.Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWmedill.htm (Sept. 18, 2001); "Chicago Tribune," http://www.tribads.com/tribute/bio.10.htm (Sept. 18, 2001); "Robert R. McCormick . . . the Adventurer," http://www.co.dupage.il.us/heritage/yps/mccormik.html (Sept. 18,2001).]

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