Patterson, Joseph Medill, 1879-1946

Newspaper editor and publisher, author, political reformer, gentleman farmer, and U.S. army captain.

Patterson devoted his early career (1901-1919) to the family paper, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago and Illinois reform politics, his Libertyville, Illinois, farm, military service in World War I France, and writing accomplished plays and novels. In 1919, Patterson founded the New York Daily News, the nation's first picture tabloid daily, noted for its breezy stories, understandable editorials, comic strips, and contests. Early advocates of the New Deal, Patterson and his paper broke with Roosevelt over interventionist policies, but later supported the war effort. Patterson also founded Liberty Magazine in 1925 and ran it until its sale in 1931.

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