 n March of 1889, Orville began to publish a weekly newspaper, The West Side
News, betting that west Dayton could support a community newspaper of its own. Wilbur, who had begun to lift himself out of his depression, joined Orville as
the editor of the fledgling paper and Wright Printing became Wright & Wright. Hard
news was scarce; the content of the publication consisted mostly of local advertising,
clippings from other publications, and an occasional editorial. But it was modestly
successful, and in 1890 Orville and Wilbur changed the name and promoted it to a daily
– The Evening Item.The Item promised "all the news of the world that most people care to read, and in such a shape the people will have time to read it." The Wrights subscribed to a wire service for news outside Dayton, and covered local events better than some of the larger, older dailies in town. Wilbur wrote editorials supporting women’s suffrage and opposing American expansionism. The brothers also dabbled in yellow journalism, writing shocking headlines to attract readers. "Roasted in Red, Roaring and Terrible Flames," for example, was the story of a fire at a Montreal insane asylum. However, despite sensational headlines and competent reporting, the Item could not compete with established journals. The Wrights published the last issue just four months after it began. They scaled back the business to job printing, hanging out their shingle as Wright & Wright.But they weren’t quite through with the newspaper business. In 1890, they gave it one more fling, more as a favor to a friend than a financial venture. Paul Laurence Dunbar, a high school chum of Orville's, launched a paper for Dayton's Afro-American community, The Tattler. The Wrights published the first issues on credit "as long as our financial resources permitted," Orville recalled. "Which was not very long." The Tattler lasted only three issues. The Wrights returned to job printing and Dunbar went on to become a distinguished writer, lecturer, and the poet laureate of his race. |
Click
on a photo to enlarge it. "The West Side News" weekly kept the West Dayton community informed for a little over a year.
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In Their Own Words
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