Venice Vanguard

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The Venice Vanguard was a newspaper circulated in Venice, California, beginning in 1907. By 1984 it had become a "throwaway shopper."[1]

Special edition of the Venice Daily Vanguard, dated July 19, 1913. A female figure labeled "Prosperity" is gesturing toward the Venice Amusement Pier at bottom left.

History[edit]

The paper was founded by William A. Rennie, Venice's justice of the peace (Ballona Township) and city recorder. Its first issue on June 17, 1907, was a four-page paper, each page measuring 9 by 12 inches, "the editor first writing the news, then setting the type, finally 'kicking it off' on the old press, and lastly, distributing the papers."[2][3][4][5][6][7]

By 1908, the business "had assumed such proportions that an addition of 30x20 feet was added to the building, a pony power press installed, a lot of new type put in, and the paper enlarged to a five-column folio."[7]

Rennie's sons, Robert H. Rennie and Walter W. Rennie, joined the firm in January 1910.[7] The paper was owned by the Santa Monica Outlook Company in 1911.[8]

On July 19, 1913, the Vanguard printed ten thousand copies of "the largest newspaper ever published by any Southern California beach city," to mark its sixth anniversary. The "prosperity edition," as it was called, amounted to 56 pages in seven parts.[9]

A building permit was issued on August 27, 1913, to W.A. Rennie & Sons for the construction of a one-story, red-pressed brick building at Mildred Avenue and Strongs Drive to house the newspaper's offices.[10]

In 1920, the newspaper was sold to George Tompkins of Imperial Valley, California.[11] Tompkins sold the company to F.W. Kellogg and Edward A. Dickson in 1922. Edward S. Kellogg was to be business manager and Fenne H. Webb was to continue as city editor.[12]

A statement by the new owners said that Venice should seek annexation to Los Angeles "only as an absolute necessity, which does not exist today and which cannot exist for several years," perhaps "if there is no possibility of securing an adequate water supply for Venice, Ocean Park, and Santa Monica."[12] The new owners pledged the paper to support the opening and widening of Main Street and of Trolleyway; the acquisition of the Santa Monica beaches by the city, and the building of a yacht harbor.[12]

In the early 1920s, C.H. Garrigues was the editor.[13] In 1925 the newspaper was known as the Venice Vanguard-Herald.[14] John B. Daniell was publisher, first mentioned in 1926[15] and as "former publisher" in 1931.[16]

The newspaper became a daily before World War II but reverted to a weekly in 1941, yet by 1949 the newspaper had again become a daily known as the Venice Evening Vanguard.[5][17] The James S. Copley organization had purchased the newspaper in 1928, then sold it in 1969 to Edwin W. Dean Jr., publisher of the Inglewood Daily News.[18]

Legal problems[edit]

In 1906, the newspaper published an article, later termed an "allegory," a take-off of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, and meant to be amusing, which mentioned Abbot Kinney, the founder of Venice, and W.H. Anderson. A court held the reference to be libelous but levied only a small sum, $750, as recompense, to be paid by Kinney to Anderson.[19][8][20][21] More than a hundred thousand dollars had been sought in the five suits filed.[22] The trial was a lengthy one, but the jury deliberated for only sixteen minutes.[23][24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Cable Game: You Lose," LA Weekly, January 5, 1984, image 3
  2. ^ "Amateur Conductors to Lead Italian Band," Los Angeles Herald, May 18, 1910, image 14
  3. ^ "Editor Wants $50,000 for Being Called 'Sewer Rat,'" Los Angeles Herald, October 19, 1910, image 8]
  4. ^ "40 Scribes Make 'Kite Track' Trip," Los Angeles Herald, November 28, 1910, image 12
  5. ^ a b "Venice Paper Goes Daily," Los Angeles Daily Times, March 16, 1949, image 41
  6. ^ "Resigns as Secretary," Los Angeles Daily Times, February 23, 1912, image 16
  7. ^ a b c "Phenomenal Growth Venice Daily Vanguard," The Venice Daily Vanguard, July 19, 1913,, image 2
  8. ^ a b "Near Million Dollars Sought as Damages," Los Angeles Daily Times, January 24, 1911, image 17
  9. ^ "Venice Prosperity," Los Angeles Daily Times, July 20, 1913, image 8
  10. ^ "Three Injured on Speedway; Beach Briefs," Los Angeles Daily Times, August 28, 1913, image 24
  11. ^ "Geo. Tompkins, Local Pioneer, Dies in North," The Evening Vanguard, November 22, 1927,image 1
  12. ^ a b c "Newspaper at Venice to Have New Managers," Los Angeles Times, July 1, 1922, image 6
  13. ^ GARRIGUES, GEORGE L. (2006). He Usually Lived With a Female. Quail Creek Press. p. 34. ISBN 0963483013.
  14. ^ "Southland Newspapers and Organizations Working for the Friendship Contest," Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1925, image 25
  15. ^ "Speakers to Support Sunday Dancing," Los Angeles Times, April 14, 1926, image 28
  16. ^ "Venice Pioneers Hear History of City at Picnic," Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1931, image 26
  17. ^ "Col. Copley, Publisher, Succumbs at Age of 83," Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1947, image 2
  18. ^ Associated Press, "3 Coast Dailies Sold by Copley," Arizona Daily Star, July 31, 1969, image 41
  19. ^ "Balm Victory for Attorney," Los Angeles Daily Times, April 8, 1910, image 18
  20. ^ "Ocean Park-Venice Suit," Los Angeles Daily Times, January 26, 1911, image 18
  21. ^ "Jones-Kinney Case; Long Complaint Read," Los Angeles Daily Times, January 27, 1911, image 18
  22. ^ "Hatchet Buried in the Sands," Los Angeles Daily Times, October 31, 1911, image 7
  23. ^ "Quick Decision," Los Angeles Daily Times, March 1, 1911, image 18
  24. ^ "Kinney on Stand," Los Angeles Daily Times, February 9, 1911, image 18
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