Dorothy Schiff
| Dorothy Schiff | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | March 11, 1903 New York City |
| Died | August 30, 1989 (aged 86) New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Known for | Owner and publisher of the New York Post |
| Spouse(s) | Richard B. W. Hall (divorced) George Backer (divorced) Ted Thackrey (divorced) Rudolph G. Sonneborn (divorced) |
Dorothy Schiff (March 11, 1903 - August 30, 1989) was an owner and then publisher of the New York Post for nearly 40 years. She was a granddaughter of financier Jacob Schiff. Schiff was interested in social services and reform, and was involved in several welfare groups.
Schiff was born in New York City into a prominent German Jewish banking family, the daughter of Mortimer Schiff and Adele (Neustadt) Schiff, and the granddaughter of financier Jacob Schiff. She attended secondary school at Manhattan's Brearley School and attended Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Afterward, she began living as a wealthy debutante.
Schiff's first marriage came in 1923, in spite of strong resistance by her parents, to Richard B. W. Hall, a broker. In the 1930s when she married George Backer, a city councillor and a staunch liberal Democrat, Schiff's political stance changed and she became a strong supporter of the Democratic party and the New Deal. She was interested in social services and reform, and was involved in several welfare groups, chief among them the Henry Street Settlement. She lived in New York City and had a countryhouse in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
In 1939, Schiff bought control of the New York Post, at the urging of Backer, installing him as publisher and president. When he resigned in 1942, she took up the mantle and became New York's first female newspaper publisher. After divorcing Backer in 1943, she married Ted Thackrey, whom she had earlier installed as editor; it was Thackrey's idea to change the Post's format from a broadsheet to a tabloid. Under her tenure the Post was devoted to liberalism, supporting trade unions and social welfare. During the 1940s, The Post featured the most popular columnists of the time, such as Drew Pearson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Eric Sevareid. She also wrote her own column called "Dear Reader". In 1945, Schiff launched the Paris Post, the second ever American newspaper to be published in Paris. It lasted until 1948.
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