Scott Newhall

Scott Newhall (January 21, 1914 – October 26, 1992) 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—when the Chronicles circulation was 155,000, languishing behind those of the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Call-Bulletin—he was promoted from Sunday editor to executive editor, with the goal of increasing circulation, a goal he achieved by enhancing serious news coverage leavened with 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.

Anguilla Liberty Dollars Following the July 1967 secession of the Caribbean Island of Anguilla, Newhall, who had covered the event, used the hydraulic presses in the basement of the San Francisco Chronicle to create 11,600 silver dollar-size counterstamped coins bearing the legend "ANGUILLA LIBERTY DOLLAR" encircling the center legend "JULY 11 1967". He offered the new government of Anguilla the opportunity to use his coins for currency. However, the offer was rejected.

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.

Personal life and death Newhall's wife Ruth also worked at the Chronicle and later became editor of The Newhall Signal. Their sons, Anthony (Tony) and Jon Newhall assumed responsibility for the newspaper as publisher and editor respectively. Jon continued as a journalist after leaving the Signal, working at Earth magazine, and finally founding Zodiac News Service in San Francisco.

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.