The 'Daily Union' Faces a Shake-Up
Internal strife and financial losses lead to a management change at Senator Ankeny's organ.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
One week from today Eugene Lorton, editor of the Washtucna Enterprise, will succeed A. P. Statter as editor and manager of Senator Ankeny's local organ, the Daily Union. Owing to differences regarding the policy and business management between Cashier Burford of the Ankeny bank and those in charge of the paper's news columns, Statter and two editors tendered their resignations. It has long been evident that the paper lacked a great deal of paying its way and was kept on its feet by drawing upon its owner's plethoric bank account. Now that Ankeny is in possession of his Senate seat, he begins to doubt the wisdom of maintaining an organ at a heavy loss merely for glory. Economy and retrenchment will be the watchword of the new management.
“he begins to doubt the wisdom of maintaining an organ at a heavy loss merely for the sake of glory.”
The practice of political figures owning and funding local newspapers as 'organs' for their agendas is a precursor to modern partisan media influence. This story highlights the fragility of local journalism when it is tied directly to the purse strings of a wealthy patron.
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