The Washington Star facts for kids
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| Type | Daily afternoon newspaper |
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| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) |
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| Founder(s) | Captain Joseph Borrows Tate |
| Founded | December 16, 1852 |
| Political alignment | Conservative |
| Ceased publication | August 7, 1981 |
| Headquarters | 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW |
| City | Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
The Washington Star was a daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.. It was also known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star. The newspaper was printed from 1852 until 1981. Its Sunday edition was called the Sunday Star.
For many years, it was the main newspaper for Washington, D.C. Famous people like columnist Mary McGrory and cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman worked there. After 128 years, The Washington Star stopped publishing on August 7, 1981. Its buildings and printing presses were bought by The Washington Post.
Contents
The Star's Story
How the Newspaper Began
The Washington Star was started on December 16, 1852. Its founder was Captain Joseph Borrows Tate. The first office was on Pennsylvania Avenue. Captain Tate first named the paper The Daily Evening Star.
In 1853, William Douglas Wallach bought the newspaper. He was a surveyor and had experience with newspapers. In 1854, he shortened the name to The Evening Star. He also started The Sunday Star edition. Wallach owned the paper for 14 years. He made it popular by reporting on the American Civil War.
In 1867, three men bought the paper together. They were Crosby Stuart Noyes, Samuel H. Kauffmann, and George W. Adams. Each person put in $33,333.33. Their families would own the newspaper for the next four generations.
Famous Cartoons and Teddy Bears
In 1907, a very talented cartoonist named Clifford K. Berryman joined the Star. He later won a Pulitzer Prize for his work. Berryman is famous for a cartoon he drew in 1902. It showed President Theodore Roosevelt and led to the creation of the teddy bear.
Berryman drew thousands of cartoons during his career. His drawings often commented on American presidents and politics. He drew about presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. His cartoons made fun of both Democrats and Republicans. They covered topics like farming, prices, and elections. Berryman worked at the Star until he passed away in 1949.
Changes and Challenges
The newspaper changed again in 1938. The families who owned it bought Washington's oldest radio station, WMAL. This new company was called the Evening Star Broadcasting Company. This purchase would later play a role in the newspaper's closing.
The Star was most popular in the 1950s. It even built a new printing plant. But the world was changing, and the newspaper struggled to keep up. Some leaders in the company caused problems. Also, more people moved to the suburbs. It was hard to deliver newspapers to these new areas quickly. Television news also became popular, taking readers away.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post grew stronger. In 1954, the Post bought another newspaper, the Washington Times-Herald. This helped the Post get more readers and advertisers. By the 1960s, the Post was the leading newspaper in Washington.
Mergers and New Owners
In 1972, the Star bought The Washington Daily News. For a short time, both names appeared on the front page. The paper was then called "Washington Star News" and finally "The Washington Star" in the late 1970s.
In 1975, the families who owned the Star sold it. The new owner was Joe Allbritton, a rich businessman from Texas. He wanted to use money from the radio station (WMAL) to help the newspaper. However, the government's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had rules. These rules made it hard for one company to own both newspapers and broadcast stations. So, Allbritton had to sell the radio stations.
In 1975, workers at the Post went on strike. They damaged the Post's printing presses. Allbritton refused to print the Posts papers on the Stars presses. He also had disagreements with his editor, Jim Bellows. Allbritton could not make the Star profitable.
The Final Years
On February 2, 1978, Time Inc. bought the Star for $20 million. Time Inc. owned the magazine Time. They hoped owning a newspaper in Washington, D.C., would give them more influence. The newspaper's worker unions agreed to some changes.
The Star tried to get more readers by adding local news sections. But this did not help much. The newspaper was losing a lot of money each month. In total, the Star lost about $85 million after Time Inc. bought it. So, Time Inc. decided to close the paper.
On August 7, 1981, The Washington Star stopped publishing after 128 years. The Washington Post bought the Star's buildings and printing presses. Many people who worked for the Star later went to work for The Washington Times. This new newspaper started in May 1982.
Many talented writers worked at the Star in its last days. Some of them include Michael Isikoff, Howard Kurtz, Jane Mayer, Maureen Dowd, and Mary McGrory. The newspaper also had a great cartoonist named Pat Oliphant.
Washington Star Syndicate
| Industry | Print syndication |
|---|---|
| Fate | acquired by Universal Press Syndicate |
| Founded | May 1965 |
| Defunct | May 1979 |
| Headquarters | 444 Madison Avenue,
Manhattan, New York City, N.Y.
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Key people
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Harry E. Elmlark |
| Services | Columns, comic strips |
| Owner | The Washington Star Company (1965–1978) Time Inc. (1978–1979) |
The Washington Star Syndicate was a company that shared newspaper content with other papers. It operated from 1965 to 1979. This meant they would sell articles, comic strips, and other features to different newspapers.
The Washington Star had shared some content before. But it became official in May 1965. They bought many comic strips and articles from another company. The syndicate shared columns by writers like James Beard and Mary McGrory.
They also shared comic strips. One popular strip they launched was The Small Society. It was published in over 300 newspapers. After 1971, the syndicate mostly stopped sharing comic strips.
In 1978, the Washington Star Syndicate was sold to Time Inc.. Then, in 1979, another company called Universal Press Syndicate bought it. Because of this, popular comic strips like Doonesbury and Cathy started appearing in The Washington Star. When the Star closed in 1981, these strips went back to The Washington Post.
Comic Strips from the Syndicate
- Alec the Great by Edwina Dumm (1965–1969)
- Buenos Dias by Ed Nofziger (1965–1967)
- Cap Stubbs and Tippie by Edwina Dumm (1965–1966)
- The Small Society by Morrie Brickman (1966–1979)
- The Smith Family by George and Virginia Smith (1951–1994)
- Stoker the Broker by Henry Boltinoff
- Uncle Charlie by Peter Laing (1965–1978)
Pulitzer Prizes Won
The Washington Star and its staff won several Pulitzer Prizes, which are very important awards for journalism.
- 1944: Clifford K. Berryman, for his cartoon "But Where Is the Boat Going?"
- 1950: James T. Berryman, for his cartoon "All Set for a Super-Secret Session in Washington."
- 1958: George D. Beveridge, for his reporting on "Metro, City of Tomorrow."
- 1959: Mary Lou Werner, for her reporting on school integration.
- 1960: Miriam Ottenberg, for articles about a used-car scam.
- 1966: Haynes Johnson, for reporting on the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama.
- 1974: James R. Polk, for revealing issues in a political campaign.
- 1975: Mary McGrory, for her comments on public events.
- 1979: Edwin M. Yoder Jr., for his editorial writing.
- 1981: Jonathan Yardley, for his book reviews.
