Dorothy Schiff
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Dorothy Schiff (March 11, 1903—August 30, 1989) was publisher of the New York Post and was owner and publisher for nearly 40 years.
Born in New York City, Schiff was the daughter of Mortimer Schiff and Adele Neustadt Schiff and the granddaughter of financier Jacob H. Schiff. She attended secondary school at Manhattan's Brearly School and attended Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia. Afterwards she began living as a wealthy debutante. Schiff's first marriage came in 1923, in spite of strong resistance by her parents, to Richard B.W. Hall, a broker. In the 1930s when she married George Backer, a city councillor and a staunch liberal Democrat, Schiff's political stance changed and she became a strong supporter of the Democratic party and the New Deal. She was very interested in social services and reform, and was involved in several welfare groups, chief among them the Henry Street Settlement. She lived in New York City and had a countryhouse in Bernardsville, New Jersey
In 1939, Schiff bought the majority control of the New York Post, installing Backer as publisher and president. When he resigned due to illness in 1942, she took up the mantle and became New York's first female newspaper publisher. After divorcing Backer in 1943, she married Theodore O. Thackrey, installing him as editor. Under her tenure the Post was devoted to liberalism, supporting trade unions and social welfare. During the 1940s, The Post featured the most popular columnists of the time, such as Drew Pearson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Eric Sevareid. She also wrote her own column called "Dear Reader". In 1945, Schiff launched the Paris-Post, the second ever American newspaper to be published in Paris. It lasted until 1948.
Thackrey left the Post after a disagreement over who to support for the presidency in 1948; Thackrey favored Henry A. Wallace whereas Schiff favored Thomas Dewey. This caused Thackrey to resign in 1949, and they divorced a year later.
In 1958, Schiff caused controversy by supporting Nelson Rockefeller after switching her support from Governor Averell Harriman. The sudden endorsement of the Post swung the vote in Rockefeller's favor, and helped to launch his political career.
Jeffrey Potter's Men, Money and Magic: The Story of Dorothy Schiff, a biography about Schiff, was published in 1976. The book generated significant publicity, which was greatly beneficial after the Post's circulation was at an all-time low.
Schiff sold the Post to Rupert Murdoch in 1976 for a reported $31 million. It is believed that she was pessimistic about the future of afternoon papers in the city. Nevertheless, she remained as consultant until 1981. She died at her home in New York City on August 30, 1989.
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