The Green Sheet
Encyclopedia
The American Eagle, later known also as Murray Eagle and The Green Sheet, was a newspaper that covered central Salt Lake Valley
, especially the city of Murray, Utah
. The beginnings of The American Eagle of Murray, Utah, are shrouded in mystery. The newspaper may have been published as early as 1891 as the American. Other sources list 1896 as the beginning publication date, before Murray was incorporated in 1903. The first known editor was Martin A. Willumsen. The Murray Eagle and Midvale
Journal started out as the American Eagle. By 1908 the newspaper was named the Murray Eagle.
During the 1920s, Peter K. Nielsen, the editor and business manager, began to expand the newspaper's circulation area. P. K. Nielsen was foreman in the composing department of The Bikuben, the Danish
paper of Salt Lake City. He was then with the Deseret News, at which time he became connected with the Eagle Publishing Company at Murray, which was then publishing only the American Eagle, with a subscription list of about four hundred and fifty. Since then the company took over or established the Sandy City Star, the Midvale
Times and the Magna
and Garfield Messenger with the total subscription becoming nearly three thousand. The paper maintained an independent political attitude.
Jim and Bette Cornwell came from Nebraska
to purchase the Murray Eagle in the mid-1950s and from it spun off the Green Sheet, named for the tint of paper of the front page. Their weeklies supplemented the Salt Lake dailies
by dealing with readers on a more local level than possible in the metropolitan press. They also helped give their communities an identity in the urban sprawl. The first green newspaper hit Murray's streets in 1960. Eventually, the paper forsook the green paper for traditional white due newsprint shortages and times when newsprint manufacturers didn't want to put green dye in their paper. Even being printed on white paper, the newspaper retained the Green Sheet name.
Cornwell, worked alongside his wife Bette to publish the Green Sheet once a week for another quarter of a century. The Cornwells sold out in 1984 to a young Eastern publisher, Peter Bernhard, a principal in Diversified Suburban Newspapers. Bernhard was for several years an absentee owner; busy running other papers in Alameda
and Oakland, California
. Even after Cornwell sold the paper in 1984, the local news tint of choice remained green for 10 more years until the Murray Eagle was sold to another owner in 1995.
Jeffrey B. Hatch, the former president and general manager of KUTV Television in Salt Lake City, joined John N. Ward, an independent public relations consultant and member of the Murray City Council in purchasing the newspaper and returned the Murray Eagle name back to the Green Sheet, the name it published under in the 1970s-80s.
The Murray Green Sheet had home delivery, and combined circulation of 24,500. The papers were free except for mail subscriptions. The Green Sheet eventually folded in the early 2000s
Two notable journalists wrote for the Murray Eagle. Pulitzer Prize
winning columnist Jack Anderson began his career as a teenage journalist covering Murray’s local beat. He eventually worked for the Washington Post and was known for his muckraking columns, especially during the Richard Nixon
/Watergate era. Ethel Bradford was a favorite local columnist who received national recognition for her folksy views in her “Out My Window” column.
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
, especially the city of Murray, Utah
Murray, Utah
Murray is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2010 census, Murray has approximately 46,746 residents.Murray is close to Salt Lake City,...
. The beginnings of The American Eagle of Murray, Utah, are shrouded in mystery. The newspaper may have been published as early as 1891 as the American. Other sources list 1896 as the beginning publication date, before Murray was incorporated in 1903. The first known editor was Martin A. Willumsen. The Murray Eagle and Midvale
Midvale, Utah
Midvale is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 27,029 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Midvale is located at ....
Journal started out as the American Eagle. By 1908 the newspaper was named the Murray Eagle.
During the 1920s, Peter K. Nielsen, the editor and business manager, began to expand the newspaper's circulation area. P. K. Nielsen was foreman in the composing department of The Bikuben, the Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
paper of Salt Lake City. He was then with the Deseret News, at which time he became connected with the Eagle Publishing Company at Murray, which was then publishing only the American Eagle, with a subscription list of about four hundred and fifty. Since then the company took over or established the Sandy City Star, the Midvale
Midvale, Utah
Midvale is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 27,029 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Midvale is located at ....
Times and the Magna
Magna, Utah
Magna is a census-designated place and township in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was 26,505 at the 2010 census, a moderate increase over the 2000 figure of 22,770...
and Garfield Messenger with the total subscription becoming nearly three thousand. The paper maintained an independent political attitude.
Jim and Bette Cornwell came from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
to purchase the Murray Eagle in the mid-1950s and from it spun off the Green Sheet, named for the tint of paper of the front page. Their weeklies supplemented the Salt Lake dailies
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
by dealing with readers on a more local level than possible in the metropolitan press. They also helped give their communities an identity in the urban sprawl. The first green newspaper hit Murray's streets in 1960. Eventually, the paper forsook the green paper for traditional white due newsprint shortages and times when newsprint manufacturers didn't want to put green dye in their paper. Even being printed on white paper, the newspaper retained the Green Sheet name.
Cornwell, worked alongside his wife Bette to publish the Green Sheet once a week for another quarter of a century. The Cornwells sold out in 1984 to a young Eastern publisher, Peter Bernhard, a principal in Diversified Suburban Newspapers. Bernhard was for several years an absentee owner; busy running other papers in Alameda
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
and Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. Even after Cornwell sold the paper in 1984, the local news tint of choice remained green for 10 more years until the Murray Eagle was sold to another owner in 1995.
Jeffrey B. Hatch, the former president and general manager of KUTV Television in Salt Lake City, joined John N. Ward, an independent public relations consultant and member of the Murray City Council in purchasing the newspaper and returned the Murray Eagle name back to the Green Sheet, the name it published under in the 1970s-80s.
The Murray Green Sheet had home delivery, and combined circulation of 24,500. The papers were free except for mail subscriptions. The Green Sheet eventually folded in the early 2000s
Two notable journalists wrote for the Murray Eagle. Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning columnist Jack Anderson began his career as a teenage journalist covering Murray’s local beat. He eventually worked for the Washington Post and was known for his muckraking columns, especially during the Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
/Watergate era. Ethel Bradford was a favorite local columnist who received national recognition for her folksy views in her “Out My Window” column.