The Press: Passing of a Giant

Monday, Jun. 03, 1946

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(4 of 4)

Joe Patterson had a lot in common with Franklin Roosevelt—a rich man's socialism, an appetite for power, a trust in a Big Navy—but from being a fervent supporter, he turned to a bitter enemy when Franklin Roosevelt went international. Joe Patterson was a good hater. His hatred for Roosevelt became almost pathological; and anything went, from cracks about Roosevelt's lameness to Poison Penman John O'Donnell's leers at Roosevelt's Jewish advisers. New York City's millions continued to return landslide votes for Roosevelt—and to read the Daily News.

This week, mourning its publisher, the Daily News for once did not speak with tongue in cheek. Its solemn self-appraisal: ''The most extraordinary exploit in 20th-century journalism."

^{*Both the Tribune and the Daily News are corporate children
of the Tribune Co. The Medill Trust, of which Patterson and McCormick
were the sole trustees, controls a bare majority of the shares.
*When Patterson and Wife No. 1, Alice Higinbotham, were divorced in 1938,
the story was played in detail on Page 2. His later marriage to Mary
King was briefly noted on Page 4.}