"For most of the city's history, the Chicago Tribune has been Chicago's leading newspaper in terms of both local circulation and national influence. Led by a series of ambitious editors and publishers, the Tribune was one of a small handful of major American daily papers published continuously from the mid-1800s into the twenty-first century. By the late twentieth century, when it was owned by a corporation that took the name of the paper, the Tribune stood as the flagship of a national media empire.
Founded in 1847, the Chicago Daily Tribune was transformed by the arrival in 1855 of editor and co-owner Joseph Medill, who turned the paper into one of the leading voices of the new Republican Party. Daily circulation grew from about 1,400 copies in 1855 to as high as 40,000 during the Civil War, when the paper was a strong supporter of President Lincoln and emancipation."
- Chicago Tribune, Encyclopedia of Chicago
CHM provides on-site access through ProQuest to the Historic Chicago Tribune (1849-1988) and the Chicago Tribune (1985-present).
CHM holds the Chicago Tribune in microfilm format for early 1963 to 2017. Use a blue call slip to request.
Access to the Chicago Tribune is also available to those with a Chicago Public Library card.
"Robert Sengstacke Abbott produced the first issue of the Chicago Defender on May 6, 1905. What began as a four-page handbill quickly became the most important black metropolitan newspaper in America. Flaming headlines and indignant editorials chronicled the plight of African Americans in sensational detail. Its commitment to safeguarding civil liberties opened a new space for blacks to air their views and to voice their discontent. Abbott's conviction that “American Race Prejudice must be destroyed” led the Defender to fight against racial, economic, and social discrimination, baldly reporting on lynching, rape, mob violence, and black disfranchisement. It championed fair housing and equal employment and was a chief proponent of the “spend your money where you can work” campaign."
- Chicago Defender, Encyclopedia of Chicago
CHM provides on-site access through ProQuest to the Chicago Defender (1910-1975). The museum has some hardcopies of the newspaper and some issues on microfilm. See the catalog for more information on daily, weekend, and supplement holdings. Use a blue call slip to request.
"Although the Chicago Sun-Times was launched in February 1948 through the merger of the morning Chicago Sun and the evening Times, it is in a sense the city's oldest daily—continuing the Chicago Evening Journal, published from 1844 until 1929, when it was re-launched as the Daily Illustrated Times."
- Chicago Sun-Times, Encyclopedia of Chicago
CHM provides on-site access to the Chicago Sun-times and its predecessors, the Daily Times and the Chicago Sun, from 1929-1985.
CHM has 1948-2015 available on microfilm. Use a blue call slip to request.
"The Chicago Daily News, the city's first penny paper and the most widely read publication in Chicago during the late nineteenth century, was founded in 1875 by Melville H. Stone. When Victor F. Lawson bought the paper in 1876, he retained Stone as editor. The Daily News started with a one-cent afternoon edition; in 1881, it introduced a two-cent morning edition. By the late 1880s, when it lowered the price of the morning edition to a penny, it enjoyed a daily circulation of about 200,000, which made it one of the most widely read newspapers in the world."
- Chicago Daily News Inc., Encyclopedia of Chicago
CHM has 1875-1978 available on microfilm. See the catalog record for more information on hardcopy holdings. Use a blue call slip to request.
The Chicago Daily News is available online to those with a GenealogyBank subscription.
This timeline, published by the Chicago Tribune, shows newspapers that started and closed in the first 100 years since the company's founding (Chicago Tribune, June 10, 1947). Read the image caption for more information.
This image, published by the Chicago Tribune, illustrates the consolidation of popular city newspapers over time until 1947 (Chicago Tribune, June 10, 1947). Read the image caption for more information.
This image shows the timeline and merger of the larger, daily city newspapers through 2000 (Newberry Library).
These tables from the Encyclopedia of Chicago give an idea of the titles and dates of newspapers published in and around Chicago, both English and foreign languages.
This Encyclopedia of Chicago entry on Newspapers provides an overview of publishing in the city and describes how "Chicago's newspapers have nurtured four traditions: combative partisanship, competitive journalism, handsome design, and noteworthy reporters and writers, especially columnists."