Early Los Angeles Newspaper a Legend in Printing and Publishing Industry
Harrison Gray Otis, born on July 30, 1917 in Ohio, functioned as the second publisher of the Los Angeles Times. It is now the second-largest metro newspaper in America. Since its establishment in 1991, the Times has been awarded 37 Pulitzer Prizes through 2004, including four in editorial cartooning, and one each for news reporting for coverage of the 1965 Watts Riots and the Los Angeles riots in 1992.
Otis was a member of the Republican National Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. He signed up for the Union army during the Civil War, serving in William McKinleys regimen. After the war ended, he worked in the publishing trade before relocating to California.
Toiling for smaller newspapers before becoming associated with the Times, Otis wrote op-eds and news before purchasing a half interest in the paper, naming himself president and editor-in-chief.
In 1898, when the Spanish-American War started, Otis requested that his former leader William McKinley, now the commander-in-chief, name him as Assistant Secretary of War. However, current Secretary of War Russell A. Alger didnt want Otis under him. So, Otis once again volunteered to fight and was named brigadier general of volunteers in the Philippines. Later, he commanded the 1st Brigade during the Philippine-American War.
At the wars conclusion, Otis went back to his job at the Times. His support for Los Angeles was pivotal in the ultimate growth of the city. He was part of the San Fernando Syndicate, an investor group who purchased land in the San Fernando Valley based on the knowledge that the Los Angeles aqueduct would one day provide water to it. Otis used his position at the Times to panic citizens, with drought stories, to vote for the funding of the aqueduct.
Otis house was one of the buildings targeted in the 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing. He was known for his conservative political views, which were reflected in the paper. Harry Chandler, his son in law - married to daughter Marian Otis Chandler ? took over for him as publisher of the Los Angeles Times.