Missouri Newspapers

On December 9, 1878, Joseph Pulitzer buys the St. Louis Dispatch for $2,500. Pulitzer arrived in the city penniless as a teen, and he took jobs such as waiter and reporter. After becoming disillusioned with politics, all before the age of 30, Pulitzer bought the newspaper at a sheriff’s sale, then immediately merged it with the St. Louis Post, to create the Post-Dispatch.

George Olds, editor of Springfield’s weekly news journal, Bias, commented on an unexpected impact of manufactured artificial Christmas trees. He claimed that back in the “primitive days,” when you told someone you had bought a Christmas tree, no one asked, “What color was it?"

The Missouri Whig and General Advertiser, a newspaper in Palmyra, was first printed on this day. The newspaper still operates in Palmyra  (now known as the Palmyra Spectator) and is the oldest Missouri newspaper in continuous operation.