The company was founded in 1847, when 400 copies of The Chicago Tribune were printed by hand in a one-room plant, according to the company’s official history. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the paper’s editor, Joseph Medill, was elected mayor. In 1911, company leadership was handed to two of his grandsons, Joseph Medill Patterson, who later founded The New York Daily News, and Robert R. McCormick. Under Mr. McCormick, the paper became known as a bastion of Midwestern conservatism. He also led the company into the new fields of radio and television, establishing stations WGN and WGN-TV, whose initials stood for World’s Greatest Newspaper.
A truly sad day for traditional media.