The Day Paper : The Story of One of America's Last Independent Newspapers [Hardcover]

Gregory N. Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000

The book is a narrative history of The Day, of New London, CT, a daily newspaper in southern New England that has preserved its independence from newspaper chains through a trust created by its owner, Theodore Bodenwein, in 1938. The book brings to life not only the history and inner workings of a small local newspaper but the story of a downcast old New England city's struggle to renew itself after the decline of its whaling industry. It traces the rags to riches life of Theodore Bodenwein, one of the few publisher's in the history of American journalism who was able to transmit his newspaper and its values to future generations intact.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Stone, a reporter for the Day in New London, CT, has pieced together the remarkable story of one of the few independent newspapers left in the United States. Stone effectively re-creates an overview of the volatile and highly competitive world of journalism in America at the turn of the century, using actual stories from the Day and other newspapers as well as legal documents and personal correspondence to trace the the newspaper's history. The story of the Day and its founder, Theodore Bodenwein, belongs side by side with the stories of Frank Munsey, Joseph Pulitzer, and other well-known names in the history of independent journalism in America. This account offers an educational and revealing look at how modern American journalism developed as well as where it may be headed in the future. Highly recommended for all academic libraries supporting journalism programs and medium to large public libraries.DAngela Weiler, SUNY at Morrisville Libs.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

...the remarkable story of one of the few independent newspapers left in the United States. -- Library Journal, Sept. 15, 2000

Bodenwein led a full life, and Stone lets us in on a lot of interesting details... -- Tertius James deKay, in The Day, of New London, CT, June 26, 2000

Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: The Day Pub Co; 1st edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967202809
• ISBN-13: 978-0967202808
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,589,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Day" to Remember, July 26, 2000

By 

James T. de Kay (Pawcatuck, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Day Paper : The Story of One of America's Last Independent Newspapers (Hardcover)

THE DAY PAPER: The Story of One of America's Last Independent Newspapers, by Gregory N. Stone, The Day Publishing Company, New London, 2000

Sometimes you approach a book with great anticipation, and at other times, with an equally great apprehension. I approached THE DAY PAPER, by Gregory N. Stone, with both of those two mind sets in full operational mode. I was eager to read it, because the history of any daily paper that has been around for almost 120 years has the potential to be interesting. In addition, as a regular reader of The Day, and someone with a particular interest in the history of the area it covers, I had a built-in bias towards the subject. But there were good reasons to be skeptical, too. A history that's published by the same paper it chronicles? It didn't sound promising. What kind of objectivity could I expect? I braced myself for what might well turn out to be an eyeball-glazing puff piece. Well, I need not have worried. THE DAY PAPER is not only a good book, it is a sensationally good book. Gregory N. Stone has somehow managed to distill in its pages the whole multifaceted story of The Day and the community it serves in a way that literally pulls the reader along. There are surprises on every page. Gossip. Jokes. Wry insights. Even the occasional tug at the heartstrings, for the sentimentally inclined. Most significantly, there is no pandering, no glossing over of the more embarrassing details, nothing to slow down the pace or cause the reader to wonder what "really happened." The credit for this wonderful book (and I mean that--it really is wonderful) must go to its author, who has somehow found a way to piece together an extraordinarily diverse saga covering thousands of lives, hundreds upon hundreds of incidents, occurring over a century and more, and to give it a shape and a dynamic that impels the reader to want to know what happens next... and next... and next. The author has certain advantages going for him, and he has made good use of them all. First, he has been blessed with publishers who had the wisdom and taste to keep out of his way. As Stone describes it in his introduction, he was instructed to tell the story of the paper "warts and all," and he has done just that. Second, he has a subject that is compact enough to be seen whole, rather than piecemeal. He is able to treat the New London area and its newspaper intimately, so that the reader can follow a remarkably coherent story of the city and The Day as together they pursue their combined destiny from the post-Civil War era to the present. The third advantage Stone has going for him is that he has a hero, an extraordinary, almost legendary hero, the remarkable Theodore Bodenwein, whose rags-to-riches biography and lifelong commitment to New London gives the story its thrust, its moral center, and finally, its remarkable resonance. Bodenwein, who ran the paper for almost fifty years, from 1891 until 1939, was a newspaperman of remarkable ambition and brains, who grasped to a degree few others matched, the symbiotic relationship between a newspaper and its community. Like the more famous immigrant publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, he had a strong sense of public responsibility, and felt obliged to serve those to whom he sold newspapers. Bodenwein died in 1939, having fought innumerable battles to improve the city and to outsmart competitors (in 1900 there were three dailies in New London), but he was determined that his newspaper would not die with him. By the terms of his will, he made The Day as close to immortal as human ingenuity and the laws of inheritance could devise. Essentially, he disinherited his heirs, and locked the newspaper's ownership in a trust, so that it might always be able to protect itself from being gobbled up by some predatory chain. As Gregory Stone makes clear, Bodenwein's legacy is still very much alive, and a remains a cornerstone of the newspaper's culture. But as he also makes clear, his hero was a human being, not a plaster saint. Bodenwein led a full life, and Stone lets us in on a lot of interesting details, including his roving eye, his various real estate schemes, certain personal pecadillos, and the alacrity with which he was able to switch political affiliations when it suited his purposes. What does the book cover? Just about everything. It begins, in the style of Citizen Kane, with the death of the press baron Theodore Bodenwein, then flashes back to his arrival, as a five year old immigrant from Dusseldorf, to the little city of New London. Stone paints a beguiling picture of what it must have been like in the 1870s, when local boosters were already promoting New London's healthy climate, deep water harbor, railroad connections and strategic location as the perfect combination of factors for the metropolis of the future. (Sound familiar?) I was particularly taken by the description of Bertie LaFranc, the star attraction at Lawrence Hall, who billed herself as a "pedestrienne," and entertained local audiences by walking fifty miles in less than twelve hours along a course within the hall that had been marked out by a surveyor. (Apparently, it didn't take a whole lot to attract a crowd in New London in those days.) Stone's story continues at a rollicking clip, chronicling the ups and downs of New London and The Day, identifying seemingly unconnected events, and tracing the way things grow and change. We see how an apparently insignificant U.S. Navy coaling station, established after the Civil War, gradually grew into the most important submarine base in the world; we witness the launching, in 1904, of the world's largest ship, the Minnesota, at the Groton shipyard, which eventually metamorphosed into Electric Boat; we see how the advent of electrical power led to the development of trolleys, which in turn enabled The Day to expand circulation; how the founding of Connecticut College and the Coast Guard Academy improved the city's academic profile (while simultaneously playing hob with the tax base)....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Day Comes Alive, August 7, 2000

By 

John E. Humphreville (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Day Paper : The Story of One of America's Last Independent Newspapers (Hardcover)

This well researched volume is a history of The Day Paper, its inception and growth under the revered Theodore Bodenwein (1864-1939), and its evolution over the years into the independent, well staffed paper of record for New London and Southeastern Connecticut. The well researched book (and in many places opinionated which makes it all the more interesting) chronicles the history, the economy, politics and personalities of New London since the Civil War to the present through the eyes of the paper and its editors.

But it is much more than history. It is a story of people and how several strong minded people, especially Mr. Bodenwein, shaped the paper into a community institution and made a difference. It is a story of the survival of The Day as an independent institution as it weaved its way through the Depression, two world wars, the death of Mr. Bodenwein, disinherited heirs, the paper's subsequent bureaucracy, the machine politics of this very ethnic town, the Internal Revenue Service and its reinvention as a modern institution.

Greg Stone, a native son, made New London come alive through his many anecdotes and opinions. And importantly, The Day (its writers, its management and directors) deserves accolades for enabling Greg Strong to write this book. No wonder it is the paper of record for New London and the surrounding county. As a former Day paperboy and New London native who reads theday.com from his desk in Los Angeles, thank you.