Scott Newhall


Scott Newhall was a newspaper editor known for his stewardship of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Early life

Scott Newhall was born on January 21, 1914, into the family that owned the Newhall Land and Farming Company. He grew up in San Rafael, San Francisco, and Berkeley, attending Tamalpais School for Boys, Tamalpais High School, San Rafael Military Academy, and the Webb School of California for boys. In 1933, in the midst of his sophomore year at U.C. Berkeley, he married Ruth Waldo.

Newspaper career

In 1934, Newhall joined the San Francisco Chronicle as a photographer. By 1952, he was promoted from Sunday editor to executive editor—when the Chronicles circulation was 155,000, languishing behind those of the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Call-Bulletin—with the goal of increasing circulation, a goal he achieved by enhancing serious news coverage, leavened by zany features and a stable of columnists that included "Dear Abby", Arthur Hoppe, Stanton Delaplane, Charles McCabe, "Count Marco", and Herb Caen. By 1965, the Chronicle had surpassed the competition, with a daily circulation of over 363,000. He left the paper in 1971.
In 1963, he purchased The Newhall Signal, which he sold in 1978 but continued to edit until 1988.
In 2012, he was inducted into the California Newspaper Hall of Fame.

Paddlewheel tug ''Eppleton Hall''

In 1970, Newhall purchased, refurbished, and sailed from England to San Francisco the 1914 River Tyne paddlewheel tug Eppleton Hall, which was donated to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

1971 San Francisco mayoral campaign

In 1971, Newhall campaigned to become mayor of San Francisco. He came in 5th place, getting 8,704 votes, or 3.44% of total votes cast.

Death

On October 26, 1992, Newhall died at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, which was named after his great-grandfather. He had been suffering from acute pancreatitis. He was 78 years of age.

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