Newark Star-Eagle Archive

The Newark Star-Eagle was published daily except Sunday and was formed by the union of the Newark Evening Star and Daily Advertiser and The Newark Eagle and the Newark Star. In its inaugural edition, it promised to be independent in politics and outlook and to be "the people's newspaper." The publisher was the Newark Star Publishing Company which was incorporated in early 1916 by Paul Block, Nathanial C. Wright, Herman Halsted, and Harry S. Thalmeimer.

According to an article in the March 29, 1919 edition of the serial the Fourth Estate, in 1919 the Newark Star-Eagle moved to a modern building on Halsey Street in Newark, designed specifically for the newspaper and with the comfort of the staff in mind. The press equipment consisted of two Hoe machines with a combined capacity of 72,000 newspapers per hour. From the press equipment, the papers were taken by escalators to the mailroom platforms, where they were arranged for distribution. On the second floor were the offices of the editors, the publisher, the business manager, advertising manager, and the solicitors of display and classified advertising. The composing, engraving, and stereotyping departments were located on the third floor. By 1919, the circulation of the paper had increased by nearly 50 percent over what it was when the newspapers were first combined. The paper maintained its price a one cent despite almost double an increase in payments to labor, and an increase in the cost of materials from 50 to 400 percent for some commodities. The investment in land and buildings represented over $200,000, and the outlay for equipment and machinery called for spending almost $200,000. The Star-Eagle had special correspondents in every news center of importance, with a large staff in Washington, D.C. It also maintained a bureau of information at the capital which served everyone in the area regardless of patronage of the paper. Trenton and Newark and their suburbs were covered by reporters whose only instructions were to get the news accurately. The head of the news bureau in Trenton was J.P. Dullard, a former state librarian. The paper also used the Standard News Association which provided news from Trenton, the Jersey shore, North Jersey, and the area surrounding New York.

In November 1939, the publisher S.I. Newhouse purchased the name, goodwill, and circulation lists of the Newark Star-Eagle. In a Trenton Evening Times article from November 17, 1939, publisher Paul Block said that "increased production costs due to mounting wages and shorter hours, along with rising newsprint prices and increased taxes have convinced us that even during times when business shows and improvement, as it does today, it is apparently impossible to make a second evening paper at least break even." The Newark Evening News was the other evening paper in Newark. The new paper was briefly called the Newark Ledger-Newark Star-Eagle before becoming The Newark Star-Ledger in December 1939.