Feb 20
In recent years there has been some debate among newspapers about advertising placement. Should advertising slots be sold on the front page? Stickers, wraps, inserts, special bags, the advertising world wants something to give their message an edge. Sometimes called the fourth estate, the founding fathers saw the unfettered flow of information via journalism as …
Feb 05
What happened to the Murray Adobe and why should we care? Today’s column addresses the second question; Wednesday’s will address the first. Walter Murray was one of key formative personalities in San Luis Obispo County as the region made the transition from Mexican rule to American. The English born and educated in law, Murray came …
Feb 02
The previous two posts showed what the in the 1960s. By 1973 only the lean-to portion remained, the main house replaced by an arbor. What happened? The answer next week. By now you may recognize the building as the Murray Adobe, law office of Tribune founding editor Walter Murray. It is in Mission Plaza between …
Dec 27
What happened to the Breeze? Last week the story of 19th century Tribune and Breeze editor George Staniford was told. When Staniford passed away in 1903 his former newspaper the Breeze soon came under the helm of Howard Jack. The name may sound familiar; Howard’s father, land developer and rancher R.E. Jack built the Jack …
Dec 20
They could have been bitter rivals. Benjamin Brooks was the long time editor of The Tribune. George Staniford had owned The Tribune before Brooks and later owned a competing paper the Breeze. Both held high office in the Masonic lodge. Often rival newspapers of the era engaged in ugly personal attacks between editors and some …
Oct 31
The Tribune has had competition for all but 8 of the over 140 years it has been published. As founder Walter Murray turned the reins of ownership over to his partner Horatio Southgate Rembaugh both wrote editorials reviewing the contentious early history of the paper. Murray’s column is linked here. Both the San Luis Obispo …
Oct 29
It was an open secret. Everyone in town knew Walter Murray was the founding editor of The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Competitors criticized Murray by name on an almost weekly basis. But the first edition the Tribune in August 1869 showed H.S. Rembaugh and Co. as the publisher. Except for a failed ownership change for …
Oct 24
Today they call it product placement. The movie camera lingers over a soda can or candy bar or a television show features a brand of car and the producers get a few extra dollars from the favored company. Today newsrooms have strict rules forbidding the exchange of favors for news coverage. There was no such …
Sep 26
By the time the second edition the weekly San Luis Obispo Tribune was published the paper was starting to hit stride. The editor, Walter Murray had a bright confident writing style and the paper was interested in more than politics. Volume 1 Number 1 of the San Luis Obispo Tribune was published on Saturday but …
Sep 19
The scene outside Sharpsburg, MD., 150 years ago today of Sept. 19, 1862. “The army advanced about noon and we crossed the field of slaughter. It was a sickening, loathsome sight — a sight that paled the cheeks of men strong of heart and nerve—a sight never to be forgotten. Rebel and Union lay mingled …
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