Note A — Chapter XIX · “THE SUN” AND YELLOW JOURNALISM

The following editorial article appeared in the Sun on July 26, 1918:

“Mr. Paul Dana calls the Sun’s attention to what he claims was an error in ‘The Story of the Sun’ as it originally appeared in the Munsey Magazine: the statement that ‘he [Mr. Dana] continued in control of the property until 1900.’ Mr. Dana states that he did not dispose of his controlling interest until 1902. The statement in the Munsey Magazine publication of ‘The Story of the Sun’ was founded upon the International Encyclopædia’s biography of William M. Laffan and also upon a statement published in the Sun at the time of Mr. Laffan’s death in 1909, that Mr. Laffan obtained the control of the Sun in 1900. When the Munsey Magazine articles were reprinted in the Sunday Sun the paragraph referred to by Mr. Dana was changed to read as follows:

“‘Paul Dana continued in control of the property for several years and held with credit his father’s title of editor until 1903. William Mackay Laffan, who had been associated with the elder Dana since 1877, obtained the business control. His proprietorship was announced on February 22, 1902, and it continued until his death in 1909.’

“We will let Mr. Dana’s version of this matter stand in ‘The Story of the Sun’ unless some further evidence appears on the disputed point.”