The oldest Negro newspaper published in New York City at the present time is The New York Age. It was founded in 1888 by T. Thomas Fortune, the living dean of Negro newspaper editors. Fortune began his journalistic career as a boy in the office of a white paper published in Marianna, Fla. His first editorship came in 1880, when he became connected with The New York Globe. Under the guidance of Fortune, The Age was perhaps the greatest Negro newspaper of the period. Garland Penn, in his Afro-American Press (published in 1891), styles, Fortune as “the most noted man in Afro-American journalism.”
Richmond Planet Edited by Mitchell
The Richmond Planet, founded by John Mitchell, Jr., in 1884, is another Negro newspaper that has enjoyed longevity. Mitchell seems to have been a born newspaperman, and practically all of his life he has devoted himself to journalism. Despite his location in the Southland, Mitchell has ever been a bold and fearless writer. Today The Richmond Planet still exists, with John Mitchell, Jr., at its head, and has a circulation of over 25,000.
Smith and The Cleveland Gazette
The Cleveland Gazette was begun in August, 1883, with H. C. Smith as sole owner. It was considered as one of the best edited papers in the United States. Smith was an ardent politician, and his editorials advocating Republicanism were exceptionally pointed and well put. The paper was one of the few Negro papers of the period that was a financial success. The Cleveland Gazette is still published by H. C. Smith. It has a circulation of approximately 20,000.
William Chase and The Bee
Perhaps the strongest Negro newspaper ever published in Washington, D. C., is The Washington Bee, of which William Calvin Chase is editor and founder. Chase is especially noted for his bull-dog tenacity in exposing and attacking fraud. He has always been one of the “big guns” in editorial artillery. Chase is still editor of his paper, and The Bee buzzes as of old.
The Freeman First Illustrated Negro Weekly
The first illustrated Negro newspaper was The Indianapolis Freeman, founded by Edward Cooper of Indianapolis, Ind., July 14, 1888. The paper consisted of eight pages, and gave a complete review of the doings of Negroes everywhere. The extensive use of cuts and illustrations made the paper famous. As an all around newspaperman, Cooper was without a peer, and under his management the paper reached a pre-eminent position in Negro Journalism. Today The Freeman is owned and controlled by George L. Knox, and it still enjoys a wide range of popularity. The paper features theatricals and sports. The present circulation is about 30,000.