History of newspapers in California facts for kids

The history of newspapers in California began in 1846. The very first newspaper was called The Californian, and it was printed in Monterey. Since then, many cities across California have had their own newspapers.

Early California Newspapers

The first newspaper printed by Americans in California was The Californian. It started in Monterey in 1846. This paper announced the Mexican–American War and was printed half in English and half in Spanish.

The printing press for The Californian later moved to San Francisco. There, it competed with another weekly paper called California Star. This paper was started in January 1847 by a pioneer named Sam Brannan.

When the California Gold Rush began, both newspapers stopped printing for a short time. By August 1848, The Californian started again. But by November, both papers were bought and combined. They were then renamed the Alta California.

The old printing press from The Californian moved again. It went to Sacramento to print the Placer Times. This press moved once more to print the Sonora Herald, the first paper in the Motherlode area. Then it went to Columbia to print the Columbia Star. Within a few years of gold being discovered, many towns in the Motherlode had several newspapers competing with each other.

Newspapers in Major Cities

San Jose's Long History with News

San Jose was California's first city. It has one of the oldest newspapers in the state. The San Jose Mercury started in 1851 as the San Jose Weekly Visitor. The San Jose News began in 1883.

In 1942, the Mercury bought the News. They kept publishing both papers. The Mercury was the morning paper, and the News was the evening paper. In 1983, the papers combined to become the San Jose Mercury News. It had both morning and afternoon editions. Later, the afternoon edition was stopped. Now, the newspaper is only published in the morning.

The San Jose Mercury News has won several awards. This includes two Pulitzer Prizes. One was in 1986 for reporting on political issues in the Philippines. The other was in 1989 for its detailed coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The Society for News Design also named it one of the five best-designed newspapers in the world in 2001.

Los Angeles and Early Papers

Los Angeles's first newspaper was La Estrella de Los Angeles, or The Los Angeles Star. It started in May 1851. This paper was also half in Spanish until 1855. The Southern Californian began in July 1854. An all-Spanish paper, El Clamor Publico, started in June 1855. It competed for Spanish-speaking readers.

San Diego's first paper was the Herald, started in May 1851. Before 1860, California had 57 newspapers and magazines. They served about 290,000 readers.

Newspapers from the Gold Rush Era

The Mountain Democrat is located in Placerville, California. It is the oldest newspaper in California that has been printed continuously since 1851. The Mountain Democrat covers local news, sports, and stories in El Dorado County.

The oldest continuously running paper on the North Coast is the Eureka Times-Standard. It is also the oldest paper north of Sacramento. It has been published continuously since it began as the Humboldt Times in September 1854. Its main competitor was the Humboldt Standard, which started in 1875. After many years of competing, both papers were managed by the same owner. In 1967, they combined to form the Times-Standard.

The Mountain Messenger, located in Sierra County, is California's oldest weekly newspaper. It started in 1852. This paper is published every Thursday in Downieville. Donald Russell has been its editor for the past 25 years.

San Francisco's Growing News Scene

James King of William started the Daily Evening Bulletin in San Francisco in October 1855. He made it the most popular paper in San Francisco. He wrote articles criticizing a city supervisor named James P. Casey. Casey then shot and badly wounded King. The Morning Call started publishing in December 1856. It later joined with the Bulletin to become the Call-Bulletin, which was published for many years.

The Sacramento Bee first appeared in February 1857. James McClatchy was its editor. He began to speak out for farmers. He opposed harmful practices by cattle ranchers and hydraulic mining companies.

Civil War and Later Developments

During the American Civil War, the editor of The Los Angeles Star openly criticized the government. Because of this, the Star was banned from being sent through the mail. Its editor was also arrested. It published its last issue in October 1864.

When The Los Angeles Star stopped, its printing equipment was sold. Phineas Banning, who supported the Union, bought it. He started printing the Wilmington Star. This paper soon changed its name to the Wilmington Journal. In 1868, the paper announced that Los Angeles already had a strong pro-Union paper, the Los Angeles Weekly Republican. So, there was no longer a need for the Wilmington Journal.

The San Francisco Chronicle started in June 1865. It was first called the Dramatic Chronicle. It was founded by Charles and M.H. de Young, who were only 19 and 17 years old. Colonel (who later became General) Harrison Gray Otis took over two Los Angeles papers. He then started the Los Angeles Times.

In 1887, a young man named William Randolph Hearst took over his father's paper, the Daily Examiner. This paper became the most important one in his national chain of newspapers.

Fremont Older became the editor of the San Francisco Bulletin in 1895. He fought against the powerful Southern Pacific Railroad. Along with Lincoln Steffens, he became a well-known journalist who exposed corruption. He was the first person to openly accuse District Attorney Charles Fickert of wrongly blaming labor activist Thomas Mooney.

Other cities also had long-lasting newspapers. These include the Fresno Republican, the Bee, and the Oakland Tribune.

On October 1, 1910, a bomb exploded at the L.A. Times building. This tragic event killed 21 workers. Labor activists were blamed for the bombing. However, the San Francisco Daily News, a paper started in 1903, defended them. The Daily News joined the Scripps-Howard company in 1921. The People's World, the first leftist daily paper in the West, began publishing in 1938.

Newspapers for Different Communities

Newspapers also served different communities in California. The oldest African-American newspaper, still active in the 1930s, was the California Eagle. It first appeared in Los Angeles in 1879.

The first French newspapers, the Californien and the Gazette Republicane, both started in 1850. They were followed by the Courrier du Pacifique in 1852.

The first German and Italian newspapers were founded in San Francisco. The German paper was the California Demokrat (1852). The Italian paper was the Voce del Popolo (1859). Both of these papers were published for a long time.

Chinese communities in California also published many newspapers. The first one was the Gold Hills News in 1854.