National Observer (United States)

The National Observer was a weekly American general-interest national newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company from 1962 until July 11, 1977.[2][3] Hunter S. Thompson wrote several articles for the National Observer as the correspondent for Latin America early in his career.

National Observer
Owner(s)Dow Jones & Company
Founder(s)Bernard Kilgore[1]
FoundedFebruary 4, 1962 (1962-02-04)
Ceased publicationJuly 11, 1977 (1977-07-11)
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Sister newspapersWall Street Journal
ISSN0027-9803
OCLC number1759309

The newspaper was the inspiration of Barney Kilgore, then the president of Dow Jones. (Kilgore is credited as the "genius" who transformed the Wall Street Journal from a provincial financial daily with a circulation of 32,000, mostly on Wall Street, into the national giant it became.)

It was Kilgore's idea that the nation needed a weekly national newspaper that would synthesize all the week's events and current trends into an attractive, convenient package. In effect, the National Observer would offer the kind of quality non-financial journalism that the Wall Street Journal once featured in its front-page "leaders" (the articles that occupy the left- and right-hand columns).[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Kandel, Myron (9 Mar 2009). "Bookshelf; Making the News New; A portrait of the man who did so much to shape the modern Wall Street Journal". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Follow the Numbers: IN 125 YEARS, Dow Jones has grown into the definitive source of business journalism". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  3. ^ Pardue, Mary Jane (1 July 2009). "The Wall Street Journal and the Invention of Modern Journalism". Newspaper Research Journal. 30 (3): 122–124. doi:10.1177/073953290903000310. S2CID 220080244.
  4. ^ Morton, John (December 2002). "Great While It Lasted". American Journalism Review. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2021.

Further reading edit

  • Tofel, Richard J. Restless Genius: Barney Kilgore, The Wall Street Journal, and the Invention of Modern Journalism New York, NY.: St. Martins Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-312-53674-9