Chicago American
The Chicago American was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until 1974. History. The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as "Hearst's Chicago American". It became the "Morning American" in 1902 with the appearance of an afternoon edition. The morning and Sunday papers were renamed as the "Examiner" in 1904. James Keeley bought the "Chicago Record-Herald" and "Chicago Inter-Ocean" in 1914, merging them into a single newspaper known as the "Herald". William Randolph Hearst purchased the paper from Keeley in 1918. The newspaper joined the Associated Press on  October 31, 1932. Under pressure from his lenders, Hearst consolidated the "American" and the "Herald-Examiner" in 1939. It continued as the "Chicago Herald-American" until 1953 when it became the "Chicago American". The "American" was bought by the "Chicago Tribune" in 1956, and was renamed as "Chicago's American" in 1959. As with many other afternoon dailies, the paper suffered in postwar years from declining circulation figures caused in part by television news and in part by population shifts from city to suburbs. The paper continued as an afternoon broadsheet until 1969 when the "Tribune" converted the paper to  the tabloid-format "Chicago Today". Measures to bolster the paper were unsuccessful, and "Chicago Today" published its final issue on September 13, 1974. The "Chicago Tribune" inherited many of the "Today"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> writers and staff and became a 24-hour operation. The "American" was the product of the merger or acquisition of 14 predecessor newspapers and inherited the tradition and the files of all of them. As an afternoon paper, the "American" was dependent on street sales rather than subscriptions, and it was breaking news that brought street sales. The "American" was noted for its aggressive reporting. Its editors, writers , and photographers went hard after every story. It was not uncommon for them to pretend to be police officers or public officials to get a story, although many of them could simply talk their way into any place. These techniques were usually used legitimately. Reporters demanded information as if they had a right to it, and would often get it. With its connections to news sources and its bravado, the small staff of the "American" regularly scooped its larger, more respectable afternoon competition, the "Chicago Daily News". When Frank Lloyd Wright announced plans to build a mile-high building in  Chicago, the "American" stole the drawings and printed them. The tradition was exemplified by the longtime night city editor of the "American", Harry Romanoff, "Romy," who could create news stories almost at will with only a telephone. He ran the city room at night with the help of two rewrite men (including Mike McGovern, noted below), one night photo editor, a sports desk editor (Brent Musburger's first job out of journalism school) and one night copy boy who "cut and pasted AP and UPI wires for Harry's review). Since the afternoon paper was put together the previous evening , the night city editor was the key news editor. Moreover, "Romy" a stout, cigar-chomping, suspendered, order-barking commander of the city desk, enjoyed the fearful but absolute regard of pressmen, the composing room and the entire night staff of the Tribune Tower, which owned and housed the "Chicago American"'s operations in its final decades. One night floods threatened Southern Illinois, and the "American" did not have a big story for the front page. Romanoff called fire departments and police stations throughout the region, posing as "Captain Parmenter of the state police" (a nonexistent individual), urging them to take  action. One fire department, bemused by the call, asked what they should do. "Ring those fire bells! Call out the people!" Romanoff then turned to his rewrite man to dictate the lead story: It never did flood, but the "American" had its banner headline. These headlines were necessary for sales of the early editions. Later in the day, breaking news would generally replace them or reduce their importance. Of course, many stories developed in this way were genuine scoops that would be expanded in later editions. The "American" gave the same attention to smaller stories as to large ones. It  was usually first with police news. One notable headline: Headquarters for the paper was the Hearst Building, located at 326 West Madison Street in Chicago. In 1961, the offices of "Chicago's American" were moved adjacent to the Tribune Tower at 435 North Michigan Avenue, where they would remain until the ultimate demise of "Chicago Today" in 1974. Notable people. In addition to Romanoff, notable "American" staff members included: Also: In the end, TV news brought an end to most afternoon papers, but up until the 1970s, Chicago had a competitive journalistic scene unmatched by most other American cities, five  daily newspapers and four wire services in competition, and none were more competitive than "Chicago's American".