Re: Monday answer
Monday�s answer is the National Police Gazette newspaper. Published on rough pink color newsprint paper to get noticed. Just goes to show how things get manipulated. The color pink when associated with men then didn't have the stigma it does today. The wood ties were of course the pulp for the pages but more importantly to the trivia the wood cut blocks used for the manly, sexy, sporting, crime images featured in each issue. American Heritage magazine mentioned that they were some of the best woodcut examples ever made in America. Many a bar/restaurant today has framed enlargements of those woodcuts.
The National Police Gazette was the newspaper/magazine that came up with and awarded belts for the various weight classes of boxers. By its publishing of John L. Sullivan stories it practically on its own took boxing from illegal barges in the middle of state line rivers to legitimate (well, almost legitimate) city venues. It also helped do away the 115 round bare knuckle fights to gloves etc. The Gazette loved prizefighters because they sold papers, and in a stunt that would make Don King proud, sent local fighting champions to England so that they could fight there. And when the NY local beat some schmo THE PAPER MATCHED THEM WITH, then by logic, the Police Gazette fighter in the _______weight class automatically became the CHAMPION of the WORLD. Cleaver huh?
Clues in the question were the Police Gazette was published by Richard Kyle Fox, apparently one of the all time great haters. Chinese, degenerates, abortionists, floozies were all on his hate list. He took a rag that formerly published criminal and Army deserter lists to the finest sleaze rag of its time. He was kind of �Flint�y in that respect. He pilfered stories from wherever, and had the hardnosed underpaid NY regular newspaper writers who lived on booze and cigars embellish the story to make it sell. Only working on weekends in a locked room they got their big meals for the week, and paid their apartment fees with the $10 they were paid for the pulp news stories. The names in the stories were generally correct, but the story about the name was only loosely tied to fact. Fox reportedly had hangers on and NY cops available outside the room that the reporters could call on for quotes, even if the original story had filtered back from other papers scattered in the West or Chicago.
He invented the sports page and gossip column. His paper helped turn actors from pariahs into celebrities. He loved a good murder and if there was a female all the better. The girl on the red velvet swing was a real seller. It never hurt to show a woman�s petticoats or her ankles either. He used French words like mademoiselle, coquette, and soubrette to promote �sexy� women. He loved wronged farm girl stories, girl fights, and he made sure the woodcuts featuring them were worth a million words.
The paper lasted much longer, but by the early 1900's the Police Gazette's day had passed. It was finally beaten by Hearst, Pulitzer and the others, but they all knew where it had started and they paid their respects.
Many links under National Police Gazette on your favorite browser.