Atlanta Daily World facts for kids
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| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Real Times Inc. |
| Founder(s) | William Alexander Scott II |
| Founded | August 5, 1928, as Atlanta World |
| Headquarters | 100 Hartsfield Parkway Atlanta, Georgia 30344, United States |
| ISSN | 1528-6142 |
The Atlanta Daily World is the oldest Black newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia. It started in 1928. Today, Real Times Inc. owns it, and it publishes news online every day. It was known as "one of the earliest and most important Black newspapers."
Contents
History of the Newspaper
How the Newspaper Started
The newspaper began as the weekly Atlanta World on August 5, 1928. A young man named William Alexander Scott II, who was only 26, founded it. Scott had graduated from Morehouse College. He noticed that Black communities were not covered much in the news. Most newspapers only wrote about crime or deaths involving Black people.
This was a problem because Atlanta had many important Black schools, businesses, and leaders. White people often did not know about these achievements. So, Scott decided to create a newspaper that would share important news about the Black community. He first published business guides in other cities before starting the Atlanta World.
The paper grew quickly. It became a semi-weekly paper in May 1930, meaning it came out twice a week. In April 1931, it became a triweekly, coming out three times a week. Scott also started other Black newspapers in different cities. This created the first group of Black newspapers, which eventually included fifty different publications.
Becoming a Daily Newspaper
In 1932, Scott's Atlanta World started publishing every day. It added "Daily" to its name, becoming the first successful Black daily newspaper in U.S. history. At that time, it was the only Black newspaper in Atlanta. Its offices were on Auburn Avenue, a famous street known for Black businesses and community life.
Sadly, on February 4, 1934, William Alexander Scott II was shot and killed. No one was ever found guilty of the crime. His brother, Cornelius Adolphus (C.A.) Scott, took over the newspaper. Under C.A. Scott, the paper became more conservative. It supported the Republican Party because of how the Democrats had treated African Americans in the past.
The Civil Rights Era
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Daily World faced some criticism. It did not openly support the sit-ins happening at white-owned restaurants in downtown Atlanta. Advertisers had threatened to stop doing business with the paper if the protests continued. C.A. Scott believed these protests were risky. He thought they might make it harder for participants to find jobs later.
Instead, C.A. Scott believed Black people could improve their lives by ending unfair rules in education. He also focused on gaining political power and voting rights. The newspaper's articles during this time were mostly neutral. This meant white businesses did not feel threatened by the content. This allowed the Daily World to get advertising from big companies like Coca-Cola and Sears, Roebuck.
The paper did encourage Black people to shop at businesses owned by Black people. This was part of the "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" campaign. In the 1940s, it helped people register to vote. The newspaper also covered social events, church news, and sports within the Black community in Atlanta.
The Daily World also reported on important national issues. These included:
- Lynchings (mob killings)
- Police brutality
- Capital punishment (the death penalty)
- Unfair treatment of Black people in the government
- The white primary system in Georgia, which stopped Black people from voting (it ended in 1946)
- School segregation (separate schools for different races)
- Unfair treatment of African Americans in the U.S. Military during World War II.
The Newspaper Today
Cornelius Scott retired in 1997. His great-niece, Alexis Scott Reeves, became the new publisher. Before this, Reeves had worked as a journalist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This was Atlanta's main daily newspaper.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Daily World's readership went down. It had been over 20,000 in the 1960s but dropped to about 10,000. By 2000, even though "Daily" was still in its name, it only published twice a week. These editions came out on Sundays and Thursdays.
In 2012, the Atlanta Daily World joined Real Times Inc.. This company publishes five other Black weekly newspapers. These include the Chicago Defender and New Pittsburgh Courier. Alexis Scott said this sale would give the World more modern resources. She called it "truly a new beginning for the paper."
Its Historic Home
In 2008, a tornado hit downtown Atlanta. It damaged the World's offices at 145 Auburn Avenue. The newspaper then moved its operations to a different place. In 2012, Alexis Scott announced plans to sell the old building. This building was an important part of Atlanta's Black history. The buyer planned to tear it down.
This news caused many people in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood to protest. They were sad to lose another historic building on Auburn Avenue. The Historic District Development Corporation works to save historic places. They started an online petition to save the building. Alexis Scott and the developer, Integral Group, responded together. They said that tearing down most of the building but saving its front was the only way to keep some part of the historic structure.
On January 8, 2014, the offices were sold to Gene Kansas. He is a real estate developer. Kansas said he planned to fix up the building for shops and homes. He also said the same architects who were redesigning another historic building would design this one.
Amazing Firsts
The Atlanta Daily World achieved many important "firsts":
- It was the first Black daily newspaper in the 20th century. It was also the first successful Black daily newspaper ever.
- It was the first Black newspaper to have a reporter assigned to the White House. This happened in February 1944 with Harry S. Alpin.
- It was one of the first Black newspapers to report on crimes where both the victim and the person who committed the crime were Black.
- It was the first Black newspaper to have its name on a major airport newsstand. Three Atlanta Daily World newsstands opened at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport in 2009.
