Memphis Press-Scimitar
The Memphis Press-Scimitar was an afternoon newspaper based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company.
| Type | Daily Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | E. W. Scripps Company |
| Editor | Ross B. Young |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Ceased publication | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Memphis, Tennessee, USA |
Created from a merger in 1926 between the Memphis Press and the Memphis News-Scimitar, the newspaper ceased publication in 1983. It was the main rival to The Commercial Appeal, also based in Memphis and owned by Scripps.[2] At the time of its closure, the Press-Scimitar, had lost a third of its circulation in 10 years and was down to daily sales of 80,000 copies.[3]
From 1909 to 1931, The Memphis Press was edited by founder Ross B. Young, a journalist from Ohio brought down by local business interests looking for a voice to speak to the stranglehold that E. H. "Boss" Crump had on city government, employment, and contracts.
From 1931 to 1962, The Press-Scimitar was edited by the crusading Edward J. Meeman, who later left a fortune to foster the study of environmental sciences.[4]
In fiction
In John Grisham's novel The Client, the Memphis Press is fictionally presented as still existing and flourishing as a major Memphis paper into the 1990s.
In the 2004 movie The Ladykillers, during the basement scene where Tom Hanks character Professor Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr describes forming the crew for the heist, he references having posted an ad in the Memphis Scimitar which the would-be thieves responded to.
The 2013 Newberry Award winning novel "Paperboy" [5] by former Press Scimitar copy editor Vince Vince Vawter has its main character working as a paper carrier delivering the Press Scimitar. A second novel "Copyboy" published in 2018, has the same character working in the paper's newsroom as a copyboy.[6]
See also
References
- "National Register Digital Assets: Scimitar Building". National Park Service. National Park Service. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- Frank, Ed. "Memphis Press-Scimitar", Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, Tennessee Historical Society and the University of Tennessee Press, accessed 7 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 7 November 2010.
- "Memphis Press-Scimitar to shut next month", The New York Times, 22 September 1983, accessed 7 November 2010. (subscription required)
- "Edward John Meeman". Tennessee Encyclopedia. January 1, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal#2010s
- http://www.vincevawter.com/about/
Further reading
- "Memphis Press-Scimitar Rolls Final Edition Today", Associated Press via Ocala Star-Banner, 31 October 1983.
- "Memphis Paper Quits.; Evening Appeal Is Consolidated With The Commercial Appeal", The New York Times, 1 July 1933, accessed 7 November 2010. (subscription required)
- Frank, Ed. "The History", Memphis Press-Scimitar, accessed 7 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 7 November 2010. [Text is identical to the Tennessee Encyclopedia.]