Herman Horowitz starts publishing The Jewish Transcript in Seattle on March 6, 1924.

  • By Lee Micklin
  • Posted 11/02/1998
  • HistoryLink.org Essay 134
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On March 6, 1924, Herman Horowitz starts publishing the Seattle-based Jewish Transcript. The paper covers the news and also reports social and organizational activities within the Jewish community. It tries to "develop in the younger generation an ardent interest in Judaism, Jewish history and modern Jewish problems" (The Jewish Transcript).

Growth and Demise

By the second issue, B'nai B'rith Lodge No. 503 and the Young Men's Hebrew Association had voted to make The Jewish Transcript their official newspaper. During the 1930s and early 1940s, one page of the paper became "B'nai B'rith News" with its own separate editor.

On December 30, 1932, The Jewish Transcript merged with the Jewish Chronicle. Horowitz stayed on as publisher and editor until 1942 when he transferred his holdings to "private owners," who set up a nonprofit organization to publish the paper, now called The Transcript.

Around 1950 the owners turned over their stock to the Federated Jewish Fund, which assumed responsibility for the paper. In 1967, the Jewish Federation, which now owned 76 percent of The Transcript, changed the name back to The Jewish Transcript. In 1999, The Jewish Transcript celebrated its 75th anniversary. A community newspaper, it had a readership of about 16,000, and was a main source of news coverage of Washington's 35,000 to 40,000 Jews. The paper ceased publication in 2015. 


Sources:

The Jewish Transcript, March 6, 1924; "Report of Committee to Review the Transcript," November 2, 1964, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Papers, Box 35 (Acquisition No. 3051 and 3051-2), Manuscripts and University Archives, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, Washington; "The Jewish Transcript," Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Website (http://www.jewishinseattle.org/JF/About/Transcript.asp). Note: This essay was updated on July 30, 2004 and March 6, 2021.


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