John Bryan (journalist)
Encyclopedia
John Charles Bryan was a newspaper publisher, editor and journalist who was best known for founding and running the Los Angeles
alternative newspaper Open City
. The son of a Cleveland, Ohio
newspaperman, the Cleveland-born Bryan worked as a journalist for a wide variety of major newspapers: the San Diego Tribune, the Los Angeles Mirror, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the Houston Post
, the Houston Chronicle
, the San Francisco Chronicle
, and the San Francisco Examiner.
He quit The San Francisco Chronicle in 1964 in order to found the tabloid weekly Open City Press.
Open City Press covered San Francisco's bohemian community. Bryan published 15 issues between November 18, 1964 to March 17–23, 1965. Open City Press was a local forerunner of the Berkeley Barb
, providing coverage of the Free Speech Movement
. It was a one-man operation. In the beginning Bryan bought a case of metal monotype and hand-set his own copy, pulling proofs to paste up for cheap offset reproduction.
as managing editor of the Los Angeles Free Press
, he launched Open City in Los Angeles, starting the volume numbering with vol. 2, no. 1 (May 5–11, 1967). The newspaper is best remembered for publishing the "Notes of a Dirty Old Man
" column by Charles Bukowski
.
In March 1968, he was prosecuted on an obscenity charge for printing an image of a nude woman in a record company advertisement for Leon Russell
. Six months later, in September 1968, there was a second obscenity bust over the short story "Skinny Dynamite" by Jack Micheline
, about the sexual antics of an underage girl, in Renaissance 2, a literary supplement to Open City edited by Bukowski. Bukowski had solicited the story from Micheline.
The cost of Bryan's legal defense and a $1,000 fine on the first charge eventually put the shoestring operation out of business.
At its peak Open City circulated 35,000 copies. Unlike almost all other underground papers which were published in tabloid newspaper format, Open City was printed in the larger broadsheet-sized format. After the paper folded, Bukowski published a satirical and somewhat cruel fictional account of Open City in Evergreen Review
under the title "The Birth, Life and Death of an Underground Newspaper."
In 1981, the San Francisco Chronicle called Bryan "The King of the Underground Press." Warren Hinckle
called Bryan a "one-man-newspaper newspaperman" in the Chronicle, noting that his apartment was crammed with printing equipment. Paul Krassner
said that Bryan was a journalist in the tradition of I.F. Stone.
One of Bryan's last underground publications was Appeal to Reason, and his final newspaper was Peace News, which was published in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks and distributed at anti-war rallies. It lasted only one issue as Bryan was waylaid by health problems. He spent his last years working in a San Francisco book store.
In addition to his newspaper work, Bryan also published two books, "Whatever Happened To Timothy Leary?" a biography of Timothy Leary
and "This Soldier Still At War" a biography of Symbionese Liberation Army
member Joseph Remiro.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
alternative newspaper Open City
Open City (newspaper)
Open City was a weekly underground newspaper published in Los Angeles by avant-garde journalist John Bryan from May 6, 1967 to April 1969. It was noted for its coverage of radical politics, rock music, psychedelic culture and the "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" column by Charles Bukowski.-Founder:John...
. The son of a Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
newspaperman, the Cleveland-born Bryan worked as a journalist for a wide variety of major newspapers: the San Diego Tribune, the Los Angeles Mirror, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
, the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
, the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, and the San Francisco Examiner.
He quit The San Francisco Chronicle in 1964 in order to found the tabloid weekly Open City Press.
Open City Press covered San Francisco's bohemian community. Bryan published 15 issues between November 18, 1964 to March 17–23, 1965. Open City Press was a local forerunner of the Berkeley Barb
Berkeley Barb
The Berkeley Barb was a weekly underground newspaper that was published in Berkeley, California, from 1965 to 1980. It was one of the first and most influential of the counterculture newspapers of the late 1960s, covering such subjects as the anti-war and civil-rights movements as well as the...
, providing coverage of the Free Speech Movement
Free Speech Movement
The Free Speech Movement was a student protest which took place during the 1964–1965 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley under the informal leadership of students Mario Savio, Brian Turner, Bettina Aptheker, Steve Weissman, Art Goldberg, Jackie Goldberg, and...
. It was a one-man operation. In the beginning Bryan bought a case of metal monotype and hand-set his own copy, pulling proofs to paste up for cheap offset reproduction.
Los Angeles
After the closure of Open City Press Bryan relocated to Southern California. After a stint working for Art KunkinArt Kunkin
Art Kunkin is an American journalist, political organizer, machinist and New Age esotericist best known as the founding publisher and editor of the Los Angeles Free Press...
as managing editor of the Los Angeles Free Press
Los Angeles Free Press
The Los Angeles Free Press , also called “the Freep”, was among the most widely distributed underground newspapers of the 1960s. It is often cited as the first such newspaper...
, he launched Open City in Los Angeles, starting the volume numbering with vol. 2, no. 1 (May 5–11, 1967). The newspaper is best remembered for publishing the "Notes of a Dirty Old Man
Notes of a Dirty Old Man
Notes of a Dirty Old Man is a collection of underground newspaper articles written by Charles Bukowski that were retrieved and published from Essex House in the Open City newspapers and into the paperback series Notes of a Dirty Old Man. His short series was written with a crude humor yet truthful...
" column by Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
.
In March 1968, he was prosecuted on an obscenity charge for printing an image of a nude woman in a record company advertisement for Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
. Six months later, in September 1968, there was a second obscenity bust over the short story "Skinny Dynamite" by Jack Micheline
Jack Micheline
Jack Micheline , born Harold Martin Silver, was an American painter and poet from the San Francisco Bay Area. His name is synonymous with street artists, underground writers, and "outlaw" poets...
, about the sexual antics of an underage girl, in Renaissance 2, a literary supplement to Open City edited by Bukowski. Bukowski had solicited the story from Micheline.
The cost of Bryan's legal defense and a $1,000 fine on the first charge eventually put the shoestring operation out of business.
At its peak Open City circulated 35,000 copies. Unlike almost all other underground papers which were published in tabloid newspaper format, Open City was printed in the larger broadsheet-sized format. After the paper folded, Bukowski published a satirical and somewhat cruel fictional account of Open City in Evergreen Review
Evergreen Review
Evergreen Review is a U.S.-based literary magazine founded by Barney Rosset, publisher of Grove Press. It existed in print from 1957 through 1973, and was re-launched online in 1998...
under the title "The Birth, Life and Death of an Underground Newspaper."
After Open City
John Bryan's follow-up to Open City was the ambitious but brief-lived Sunday Paper, which published six or seven issues in San Francisco in February and March 1972. Published in the large broadsheet format, each issue was fronted by a two-page section of underground comics edited by Willy Murphy and printed in full color.In 1981, the San Francisco Chronicle called Bryan "The King of the Underground Press." Warren Hinckle
Warren Hinckle
Warren Hinckle is an American political journalist based in San Francisco. As a student at the University of San Francisco he wrote for the student newspaper, the San Francisco Foghorn. After college he worked for the San Francisco Chronicle...
called Bryan a "one-man-newspaper newspaperman" in the Chronicle, noting that his apartment was crammed with printing equipment. Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner is an author, journalist, stand-up comedian, and the founder, editor and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine The Realist, first published in 1958...
said that Bryan was a journalist in the tradition of I.F. Stone.
One of Bryan's last underground publications was Appeal to Reason, and his final newspaper was Peace News, which was published in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks and distributed at anti-war rallies. It lasted only one issue as Bryan was waylaid by health problems. He spent his last years working in a San Francisco book store.
In addition to his newspaper work, Bryan also published two books, "Whatever Happened To Timothy Leary?" a biography of Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
and "This Soldier Still At War" a biography of Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
member Joseph Remiro.