The Pittsburgh Courier
Logo of the Pittsburgh Courier.
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| Type | African-American newspaper |
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| Founded | May 10, 1910 |
| Ceased publication | October 22, 1966 |
| City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
The Pittsburgh Courier was an African-American newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the Courier was one of the top black newspapers in the United States.
It was acquired in 1965 by John H. Sengstacke, a major black publisher and owner of the Chicago Defender; he re-opened it in 1967 as the New Pittsburgh Courier in 1967, making it one of his four newspapers for the African-American audience.
The paper was begun by Edwin Nathaniel Harleston, a guard at the H. J. Heinz Company food packing plant in Pittsburgh. Harleston, a self-published poet, started printing the paper at his own expense in 1907. Generally about two pages, it was primarily a vehicle for Harleston's work, and he printed around ten copies which he sold for five cents apiece. In 1909, Edward Penman, Hepburn Carter, Scott Wood, Jr., and Harvey Tanner joined Harleston to run the paper, although they did not contribute financially. They named the paper Pittsburgh Courier after the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, Harleston's hometown. Harleston prepared the copy of the first issue of the Courier at his home, and Penman and Carter ordered five hundred copies from a printer in Philadelphia. The five men sold most of the copies of this issue throughout the Hill District on January 5, 1910. During this period, Courier issues were four pages in length. In early March 1910, Robert Lee Vann drew up incorporation papers for the Courier and began writing contributions. Although the Courier was being printed by the Union News Company in Pittsburgh to save money, by March, Harleston began to run out of money for the paper. Through Vann's connections, the paper was able to attract wealthy investors, including Cumberland Willis Posey Sr.. On May 10, 1910, the Pittsburgh Courier was formally incorporated, with Vann handling the legal means. During the summer, the paper grew from four to eight pages, but struggled with circulation and financial solvency due to a small market and lack of interested advertisers. In the fall of 1910, Harleston left the paper for financial and creative reasons, and Vann became editor, a position he would hold until his death in 1940.
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