Before the internet, TV, or radio, the Chicago Tribune built a media empire powered by trees. To outmaneuver his rivals, Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick didn’t just compete in the headlines– he built paper mills, shipping fleets, and entire towns in the Canadian wilderness to control every step of the production process.
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00:00 The Power of Newsprint
00:59 The Chicago Circulation War
02:19 Robert McCormick Builds a Paper Mill
04:09 Building a Fleet and Expanding into Quebec
05:08 The Company Towns
06:50 The Vertical Integration of the Chicago Tribune
08:09 McCormick’s Legacy
09:56 Learn More
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SOURCES:
Smith, R. N. (1997). The Colonel: The life and legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Sykes, A., & Gillham, S. (1988). Pulp & Paper Fleet: A history of the Quebec and Ontario Transportation Company. Stonehouse Publications.
Wiegman, C. (1953). Trees to news: A chronicle of the ontario paper company’s origin and development. McClelland & Stewart Limited.
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“How Canadian Forests Built a Chicago Media Empire” was produced by Great Lakes Now/@detroitpbs
Produced, Written, and Narrated by
Adam Fox-Long
Edited by
Erik Olsen
Jordan Wingrove
Additional Material
Prelinger Archives
Library of Congress
US National Archives
The Robert R. McCormick Foundation
Charles Townley Chapman
Greg Chapman
Ontario Heritage Trust
Bibliotheque et Archives Nationales Du Quebec
E.L. Désilets
Paul Carpentier
City of Baie-Comeau
Thorold Public Library
Brock University Library, Archives and Special Collections