Joseph Medill Patterson

Joseph Medill Patterson (January 6, 1879 – May 26, 1946) was an American journalist and publisher who founded the New York Daily News. At the time of his death, it maintained a Sunday circulation of 4.5 million copies, the largest circulation of any paper in the United States.

Early life and education

Joseph Medill Patterson was born into a newspaper family. His mother, Elinor Medill, was a daughter of Joseph Medill, founder of the Chicago Tribune and a mayor of Chicago, Illinois. His father, Robert Wilson Patterson Jr., was himself a journalist at the Tribune.

As a scion of a millionaire family, Joseph received a top-flight education, attending Yale University where he was a member of Scroll and Key. He briefly left school to report on the Boxer Rebellion in China as a foreign correspondent for the Tribune, returning in time to complete his studies and graduate from Yale in 1901.

Career

Patterson became one of the most significant newspaper publishers in the United States, founding the New York Daily News and introducing the tabloid format. He was groomed to follow in the footsteps of his namesake grandfather. As a young adult, he asked his father if he could go to China to cover the Boxer Rebellion. Granted permission, he went as a correspondent for William Randolph Hearst but did not arrive in time.

Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago, and covered the police beat for the Chicago Tribune. In 1903 he was part of a campaign committee led by his cousin Joseph Medill McCormick in support of Republican Nominee for 21st Ward Alderman candidate Fletcher Dobyns. Patterson served in the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican from 1903 to 1905. From 1905 to 1906 he served as the City of Chicago's Commissioner of Public Works.