About the Program
Amanda Smith recounts the life of Cissy Patterson, the 20th century's first female publisher and editor in chief of a metropolitan daily newspaper. Cissy Patterson came from a family closely connected to the newspaper industry, her grandfather, Joseph Medill, was a former mayor of Chicago and principal owner of the Chicago Tribune and her brother, Joe Medill Patterson was the founder of New York's Daily News. Ms. Patterson, without any prior experience, took over William Randolph Hearst's struggling Washington Herald in 1930. She would later merge the paper with the Washington Times and by 1945 produce multiple daily editions of the Washington Times-Herald with an annual profit over one million dollars. Amanda Smith speaks at the Book Cellar in Chicago.