Atlanta Georgian
Encyclopedia
The Atlanta Georgian was a daily afternoon newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia
. Founded by New Jersey
native, Fred Loring Seely
, the first issue was April 25, 1906, with editor John Temple Graves. They mainly criticized saloons and the convict lease
system. In February 1907, Seely expanded the paper by buying out the Atlanta News. The paper was struggling when William Randolph Hearst
purchased it in the spring of 1912 (his ninth newspaper property); he transformed it into a yellow press, making it much more successful, if less respected. Noted journalist James B. Nevin became editor (continuing until his death in 1931) and started the Empty Stocking Fund in 1927.
That year the paper was awarded the Sutlive Trophy, given by the Georgia Press Association. By the 1930s it was the third largest paper in Atlanta with a circulation of 75,000: far behind the Journal (98,000) and the Constitution (91,000). In 1939, James M. Cox
purchased it at the same time as the Atlanta Journal (now The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
). He closed down the Georgian, with its last issue being December 18, 1939. By this time the Hearst empire had decreased to fewer than 20 newspapers.
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Founded by New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
native, Fred Loring Seely
Fred Loring Seely
Fred Loring Seely was a newspaperman, chemist, inventor and philanthropist.Born to Uriah and Nancy Hopping Seely, in Monmouth, New Jersey, Fred Seely first worked for the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company and later became an executive for his father-in-law Edwin Wiley Grove's "Paris Medicine...
, the first issue was April 25, 1906, with editor John Temple Graves. They mainly criticized saloons and the convict lease
Convict lease
Convict leasing was a system of penal labor practiced in the Southern United States, beginning with the emancipation of slaves at the end of the American Civil War in 1865, peaking around 1880, and ending in the last state, Alabama, in 1928....
system. In February 1907, Seely expanded the paper by buying out the Atlanta News. The paper was struggling when William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
purchased it in the spring of 1912 (his ninth newspaper property); he transformed it into a yellow press, making it much more successful, if less respected. Noted journalist James B. Nevin became editor (continuing until his death in 1931) and started the Empty Stocking Fund in 1927.
That year the paper was awarded the Sutlive Trophy, given by the Georgia Press Association. By the 1930s it was the third largest paper in Atlanta with a circulation of 75,000: far behind the Journal (98,000) and the Constitution (91,000). In 1939, James M. Cox
James M. Cox
James Middleton Cox was the 46th and 48th Governor of Ohio, U.S. Representative from Ohio and Democratic candidate for President of the United States in the election of 1920....
purchased it at the same time as the Atlanta Journal (now The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and its suburbs. The AJC, as it is called, is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta...
). He closed down the Georgian, with its last issue being December 18, 1939. By this time the Hearst empire had decreased to fewer than 20 newspapers.
External links
- Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive Digital Library of Georgia