St. Louis Post-Dispatch

==History==
===Early years===
In 1878, Pulitzer purchased the bankrupt ''St. Louis Dispatch'' at a public auction<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jolley|first1=Laura R.|title=Joseph Pulitzer|url=http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/p/pulitzer/|website=Missouri Biographies for Students|access-date=October 29, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017045715/http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/p/pulitzer/|archive-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref> and merged it with the ''St. Louis Evening Post'' to create the ''St. Louis Post and Dispatch'', whose title was soon shortened to its current form. He appointed John A. Cockerill as the managing editor. Its first edition, 4,020 copies of four pages each, appeared on December 12, 1878.
[[File:St. Louis Post- Dispatch ad - "Fighting for freedom," Independence day pageant; (IA fightingforfreed00stev) (page 12 crop).jpg|thumb|377x377px|St. Louis Post- Dispatch ad in 1918]]
In 1882, [[James Overton Broadhead]] ran for Congress against John Glover. The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', at Cockerill's direction, ran a number of articles questioning Broadhead's role in a lawsuit between a gaslight company and the city; Broadhead never responded to the charges.<ref>Shepley, Carol Ferring. <u>Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes: Tales from Bellefontaine Cemetery</u>.  Missouri History Museum: St. Louis, 2008.</ref>  Broadhead's friend and law partner, [[Alonzo W. Slayback]], publicly defended Broadhead, asserting that the ''Post-Dispatch'' was nothing more than a "blackmailing sheet."  The next day, October 13, 1882, Cockerill re-ran an offensive "card" by John Glover that the paper had published the prior year (November 11, 1881). Incensed, Slayback barged into Cockerill's offices at the paper demanding an apology. Cockerill shot and killed Slayback; he claimed self-defense, and a pistol was allegedly found on Slayback's body. A grand jury refused to indict Cockerill for murder, but the economic consequences for the paper were severe. In May 1883, Pulitzer sent Cockerill to New York to manage the ''[[New York World]]'' for him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/slayback.htm |title=Col. Alonzo W. Slayback |access-date=2013-07-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315055555/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/slayback.htm |archive-date=2012-03-15 }}</ref>

The ''Post-Dispatch'' was one of the first daily newspapers to print a [[comics]] section in color, on the back page of the features section, styled the "Everyday Magazine."{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}

===20th century===
At one time, the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' had the second-largest [[news bureau]] in Washington, D.C., of any newspaper in the [[Midwestern United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/4201/washington_reporters_mass_exodus/|title=Washington Reporters' Mass Exodus|last=Tady|first=Megan|date=February 3, 2009|access-date=February 7, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206074947/http://inthesetimes.com/article/4201/washington_reporters_mass_exodus|archive-date=February 6, 2009}}</ref>

After Joseph Pulitzer's retirement, generations of Pulitzers guided the newspaper, ending when great-grandson Joseph Pulitzer IV left the company in 1995.

The ''Post-Dispatch'' was characterized by a [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] [[editorial page]] and columnists, including [[Marquis Childs]]. The editorial page was noted also for [[political cartoon]]s by [[Daniel R. Fitzpatrick]], who won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartoons,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/daniel-r-fitzpatrick|title=Daniel R. Fitzpatrick of ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''|website=www.pulitzer.org|language=en|access-date=2018-07-01|archive-date=July 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702011355/http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/daniel-r-fitzpatrick|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Bill Mauldin]], who won the Pulitzer for editorial cartoons in 1959.

On May 22, 1946, the ''Post-Dispatch'' became the first newspaper in the world to publish the secret protocols for the 1939 [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Richard L.|last=Stokes|title=Secret Soviet-Nazi Pacts on Eastern Europe Aired: Purported Texts on Agreed Spheres of Influence Produced at Nuernberg but Not Admitted at Trial|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/138237790/|page=1|date=22 May 1946|access-date=24 May 2019|archive-date=July 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718083554/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/138237790/|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the presidency of [[Harry S. Truman]], the paper was one of his most outspoken critics. It associated him with the [[Tom Pendergast|Pendergast]] machine in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], and constantly attacked his [[integrity]].

In 1950, the ''Post-Dispatch'' sent a reporter, Dent McSkimming, to [[Second Brazilian Republic|Brazil]] to cover the [[1950 FIFA World Cup]]. The reporter paid for his own travelling expenses and was the only U.S. reporter in all of Brazil covering the event.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/arts-leisure/info-06-2010/walter_bahr_profile.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180611230708/https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/arts-leisure/info-06-2010/walter_bahr_profile.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2018|title=Walter Bahr reflects on the day the US beat England and stunned the soccer world|date=10 June 2010|first=John|last=Hanc|publisher=AARP|access-date=11 June 2018}}</ref>

In 1959 the ''[[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]]'' entered into a joint operating agreement with the ''Post-Dispatch''. The Post–Globe operation merged advertising, printing functions and shared profits. The ''Post-Dispatch'', distributed evenings, had a smaller circulation than the ''Globe-Democrat'', a morning daily. The ''Globe-Democrat'' folded in 1983, leaving the ''Post-Dispatch'' as the only daily newspaper in the region.<ref>{{cite news|title=St. Louis Globe-Democrat announces it will close this year|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/08/us/st-louis-globe-democrat-announces-it-will-close-this-year.html|access-date=25 June 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 November 1983|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628052711/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/08/us/st-louis-globe-democrat-announces-it-will-close-this-year.html|archive-date=28 June 2017}}</ref>

In August 1973 a [[Teamsters]] union local representing ''Globe-Democrat'' and ''Post-Dispatch'' staffers went on strike, halting production for six weeks.<ref>{{cite news|title=Post-Dispatch in St. Louis Publishes After 6 Weeks|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/07/archives/postdispatch-in-st-louis-publishes-after-6-weeks.html|access-date=25 June 2017|agency=Associated Press|date=6 October 1973|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629204042/http://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/07/archives/postdispatch-in-st-louis-publishes-after-6-weeks.html|archive-date=29 June 2017}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:St. Louis Post-Dispatch headquarters.JPG|thumb|Former ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' headquarters]]
In September 2003, the ''Post-Dispatch'' accepted submissions for a 63rd anniversary special of ''[[Our Own Oddities]]'', a lighthearted feature that ran from 1940 to 1991.<ref>"Are We as Odd as We Used to Be?" ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', September 3, 2003.</ref> The best submissions, including a duck-shaped cucumber and a woman born on [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|December 7, 1941]], with the initials W.A.R., were illustrated by ''Post-Dispatch'' artist Dan Martin and featured in the October 6, 2003, edition.<ref>Jeff Daniel, "It's Odd That You Should Mention It," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', October 6, 2003.</ref>

On January 13, 2004, the ''Post-Dispatch'' published a 125th-anniversary edition, which included some highlights of the paper's 125&nbsp;years:

* Coverage of [[Charles Lindbergh]], who flew across the Atlantic despite being denied financial or written support from the ''Post-Dispatch.''
* A Pulitzer Prize-winning campaign to clean up [[air pollution|smoke pollution]] in St. Louis. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the city had [[1939 St. Louis smog|the filthiest air in the United States]].
* Sports coverage, including nine [[St. Louis Cardinals]] championships, an NBA title by the [[St. Louis Hawks]] in 1958, and the 2000 Super Bowl victory of the [[St. Louis Rams]].
* Coverage of the city's "cultural icons" including [[Kate Chopin]], [[Tennessee Williams]], [[Chuck Berry]], and [[Miles Davis]].

On January 31, 2005, Michael Pulitzer announced the sale of Pulitzer, Inc. and all its assets, including the ''Post-Dispatch'' and a small share of the St. Louis Cardinals, to [[Lee Enterprises]] of [[Davenport, Iowa]], for $1.46&nbsp;billion. He said no family members would serve on the board of the merged company.

{{As of|2007|post=,}} the ''Post-Dispatch'' was the fifth-largest newspaper in the [[midwestern United States]] and the 26th-largest newspaper in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |date=2007 |title=Top 100 Newspapers in the United States |url=https://www.infoplease.com/culture-entertainment/journalism-literature/top-100-newspapers-united-states |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=www.infoplease.com |language=en |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806201759/https://www.infoplease.com/culture-entertainment/journalism-literature/top-100-newspapers-united-states |url-status=live }}</ref>

On March 12, 2007, the paper eliminated 31 jobs, mostly in its circulation, classified phone rooms, production, purchasing, telephone operations and marketing departments.<ref>"St. Louis Post Dispatch to cut 31 Jobs", ''St. Louis Business Journal'', March 12, 2007.</ref> Several rounds of layoffs have followed.

On March 23, 2009, the paper converted to a [[compact (newspaper)|compact]] style every day from the previous [[broadsheet]] Sunday through Friday and [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] on Saturday.

On May 4, 2012, the ''Post-Dispatch'' named a new editor, Gilbert Bailon.

In 2015, the paper was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography for its coverage of protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

=== Endorsements for U.S. president ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!endorsement for president (*lost)
!party
|-
|1972
|[[George McGovern|George McGovern*]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|1976
|[[Jimmy Carter]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|1980
|[[Jimmy Carter]]*
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|1984
|[[Walter Mondale]]*
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|1988
|[[Michael Dukakis]]*
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|1992
|[[Bill Clinton]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|1996
|[[Bill Clinton]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|2000
|[[Al Gore]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|2004
|[[John Kerry]]*
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|2008
|[[Barack Obama]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|2012
|[[Barack Obama]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|2016
|[[Hillary Clinton]]*
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
|2020
|[[Joe Biden]]
|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|}
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