Field Enterprises
Encyclopedia
Field Enterprises was a private holding company
founded on August 31, 1944, by Marshall Field III
and others whose main asset was the Chicago Sun. That same year the company acquired the book publishers Simon & Schuster
and Pocket Books
.
It also operated a syndicate
, Field Newspaper Syndicate, whose most popular offering was the comic trip Steve Canyon
. Comic strip historian Allan Holtz
has written regarding the origins of the syndicate and its relationship to the rest of the company:
Other features included the editorial cartoons of Bill Mauldin
and the "Ask Ann Landers
" advice column.
. Besides the Sun-Times, Field Enterprises also owned broadcaster
Field Communications
, founded Parade
magazine and owned the World Book encyclopedia from 1945 to 1978.
Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books were sold in 1957 following the death of Marshall Field III. Parade was sold the following year. Field Enterprises was dissolved in April 1984 after the sale of the Sun-Times, the last of their valuable assets, to Rupert Murdoch
the previous year. Murdoch & News Corporation then in 1986 sold the Sun-Times to Hollinger International (now the Sun-Times Media Group
), formerly controlled, indirectly, by Canadian-born businessman Conrad Black
. Field Newspaper Syndicate was sold the same year to Hearst
's syndication division, King Features Syndicate
.
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
founded on August 31, 1944, by Marshall Field III
Marshall Field III
Marshall Field III was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune and a leading financial supporter and founding board member of Saul Alinsky's community organizing network Industrial Areas Foundation.Born...
and others whose main asset was the Chicago Sun. That same year the company acquired the book publishers Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
and Pocket Books
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
.
It also operated a syndicate
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
, Field Newspaper Syndicate, whose most popular offering was the comic trip Steve Canyon
Steve Canyon
Steve Canyon was a long-running American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon ran from January 13, 1947 until June 4, 1988, shortly after Caniff's death...
. Comic strip historian Allan Holtz
Allan Holtz
Allan Holtz is a comic strip historian who researches and writes about newspaper comics for his Stripper's Guide, launched in 2005. His research encompasses some 7,000 American comic strips and newspaper panels...
has written regarding the origins of the syndicate and its relationship to the rest of the company:
- Field... was a syndicate initially created by Marshall Field to sell features from his Chicago Sun newspaper. When Field started the Sun he found that Chicago was pretty much all sewed up with exclusive contracts on the better features. He resolved to purchase his own features and market them. Ironically, the Field Enterprises syndicate ended up being a better moneymaker than the Sun itself. It has been said that the flagship feature, Steve Canyon, was responsible for keeping the Sun afloat for many years.
Other features included the editorial cartoons of Bill Mauldin
Bill Mauldin
William Henry "Bill" Mauldin was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States...
and the "Ask Ann Landers
Ask Ann Landers
Ann Landers was a pen name created by Chicago Sun-Times advice columnist Ruth Crowley in 1943 and taken over by Eppie Lederer in 1955. For 56 years, the Ask Ann Landers syndicated advice column was a regular feature in many newspapers across North America...
" advice column.
Mergers
The Sun later merged with the Chicago Times to create the Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
. Besides the Sun-Times, Field Enterprises also owned broadcaster
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
Field Communications
Field Communications
Field Communications was a division of Field Enterprises, which owned the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily News. The company owned independent television stations in the United States, with WFLD-TV in Chicago as its largest-market station....
, founded Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
magazine and owned the World Book encyclopedia from 1945 to 1978.
Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books were sold in 1957 following the death of Marshall Field III. Parade was sold the following year. Field Enterprises was dissolved in April 1984 after the sale of the Sun-Times, the last of their valuable assets, to Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
the previous year. Murdoch & News Corporation then in 1986 sold the Sun-Times to Hollinger International (now the Sun-Times Media Group
Sun-Times Media Group
Sun-Times Media Group is a Chicago-based newspaper publisher. It is known for its prior association with controversial Canadian businessman Conrad Black.-History:...
), formerly controlled, indirectly, by Canadian-born businessman Conrad Black
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
. Field Newspaper Syndicate was sold the same year to Hearst
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
's syndication division, King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
.
Field Newspaper Syndicate comic strips
- B.C.B.C. (comic strip)B.C. is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Johnny Hart. Set in prehistoric times, it features a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals from various geologic eras...
by Johnny HartJohnny HartJohnny Hart was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strip B.C. and co-creator of the strip The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including the Swedish Adamson Award and five from the National Cartoonists Society... - The BerrysThe BerrysThe Berrys was a family comic strip drawn by Carl Grubert and distributed by Field Enterprises.A 1934 alumnus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Grubert had a background in Chicago advertising and served in the United States Navy during World War II, the period when he created The...
by Carl GrubertCarl GrubertCarl Alfred Grubert, Jr. was an American cartoonist who drew the comic strip, The Berrys for more than three decades.... - Brother Juniper (1953-86) by Fr. Justin "Fred" McCarthy, OFM , and Len Reno
- The Captain's Gig by Virgil Partch
- Goosemyer
- Granny and Slowpoke
- Grin and Bear ItGrin and Bear ItGrin and Bear It is a daily panel created by George Lichtenstein under the penname George Lichty. Initially distributed by United Feature Syndicate, it was syndicated by Field Enterprises beginning in 1940. Field Enterprises was sold in 1986 to King Features Syndicate which continues to distribute...
by George LichtyGeorge LichtyGeorge Lichty was an American cartoonist, creator of the daily and Sunday cartoon series Grin and Bear It. His work was signed Lichty and often ran without mention of his first name.... - Hit or Miss by George SixtaGeorge SixtaGeorge Sixta was an American cartoonist, best known for his syndicated comic strip, Rivets, about a wire-haired terrier...
- Latigo by Stan LyndeStan LyndeStan Lynde is an American comic artist, painter and novelist. Born in Billings, Montana, he was raised on a sheep ranch near Lodge Grass. He attended the University of Montana in Missoula and now lives in Helena....
- Mary Worth by Ken ErnstKen ErnstKenneth Ernst , known professionally as Ken Ernst, was an US comic book and comic strip artist. He is most notable for his work on the popular and long-running comic strip Mary Worth from 1942 to 1985. With his realistic style, uncommon in those early years, Ernst paved the way for soap opera...
and Allen SaundersAllen SaundersAllen Saunders was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake... - Miss PeachMiss PeachMiss Peach was a syndicated comic strip created by American cartoonist Mell Lazarus. It ran for 45 years, from February 4, 1957 to September 8, 2002....
by Mell Lazarus - Rivets by George SixtaGeorge SixtaGeorge Sixta was an American cartoonist, best known for his syndicated comic strip, Rivets, about a wire-haired terrier...
- Steve CanyonSteve CanyonSteve Canyon was a long-running American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon ran from January 13, 1947 until June 4, 1988, shortly after Caniff's death...
by Milton CaniffMilton CaniffMilton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.-Biography:... - The Strange World of Mr. MumThe Strange World of Mr. MumThe Strange World of Mr. Mum was a surreal humor comic panel by Irving Phillips which was published from 1958 to 1974. At its peak, it appeared daily in 180 newspapers in 22 countries. Initially distributed by the Hall Syndicate, it was later handled by the Field Newspaper Syndicate. A Sunday...
by Irving Phillips - SylviaSylvia (comic strip)Sylvia is a long-running comic strip by American cartoonist Nicole Hollander that offers commentary on political, social and cultural topics, and on cats, primarily in the voice of its title character, Sylvia...
by Nicole HollanderNicole HollanderNicole Hollander is an American cartoonist and writer. Her daily comic strip Sylvia is syndicated to newspapers nationally by Tribune Media Services and also can be seen on her blog, BadGirl Chats.... - Tucker
External links
- Field Enterprises Records at the Newberry Library