In honor of the 200th anniversary of
Cleveland's first newspaper, the Plain Dealer News Guild is throwing a party
for Cleveland journalists and friends.
The first round is on the Guild for the first
50 people. Tater tots, too!
The bicentennial observance will take place at
5-8 p.m. Thursday at Happy Dog, 5801 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland.
Cheers!
The Cleveland Commercial Register began July
31, 1818, so the birthday is being observed two months late. But it's a party, so who cares?
The PD was founded in 1842 by Joseph William Gray as a weekly and
became a daily in 1845. Gray’s mentor was Stephen Douglas, of the famous
Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Philosophical disagreements caused a short
absence in 1865. It became a morning paper in 1885 after absorbing the
Cleveland Herald. The Plain Dealer and Cleveland News merged into the Forest
City Publishing Company in 1932. In 1967 the PD was sold to the Newhouse chain.
The Plain Dealer got a Pulitzer Prize
in 1953, for Ed Kuekes’ editorial cartoon, and for Connie Shultz' writing. The BJ has FOUR Pulitzers.
Editors and reporters from the BJ switched to
the PD, and vice versa, although far more often leaving the BJ for the PD.
