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CALIFORNIA MONTHLY
December 1992

Scott Newhall

1914-1992

ormer San Francisco Chronicle editor Scott Newhall, who spent 20 years
turning a struggling daily into a media powerhouse, died October 26
F after a shon illness. He was 78. Newhall attended Cal for three years in
the early 1930s, and his wife, Ruth Waldo Newhall '31, served as the Chroni-
de's Berkeley correspondent. Though not a panicularly tall man, Newhall
always seemed a bit larger than life, and he.brought zest and humor to his
two loves, newspapering and sailing.
He joined the Chronicle as a photographer in 1935, rose to become executive
editor in 1952, and later editor, and stepped down in 1971. In between, he
turned a stodgy paper into a lively one, with splashy stories and headlines
that often had more sauce than substance. "Larraburu Splits!" screamed a
1969 headline set in going-to-war type. Had the famed San Francisco bakery
announced a stock split? No; it was launching a line of pre-split English
muffins.
Newhall brought that same irreverence to his love of boats. In 1936, he set
off an a round-the-world cruise, with his wife Ruth as navigator. Though they
had taken a course in celestial navigation with Cal astronomy professor C.
Donald Shane, Newhall couldn't tell a sextant from a sun sight. He intended
to "pick it up along the way," he said. (The trip was cut short in Mexico when
he was injured and forced to return for medical attention). A 1970 Newhall
trip across the Atlantic with a side-paddle tugboat he bought in England was
typical. "He made the entire crossing at five knots," said his wife Ruth, "and
made port with just half a tank of fuel."
That crossing paralleled Newhall's attempts at a political career. In 1971,
he ran for mayor of San Francisco, finishing a distant fifth behind, among oth-
ers, Mayor Joseph Alioto and challenger (now Senator) Dianne Feinstein.
After leaving the Chronicle, Newhall and his wife resettled in Southern Cal-
ifornia, where he edited the family newspaper, the Newhall Signal, until 1988.
Though not above criticizing Cal-he
wrote a famous 1958 editorial blasting the
school for "Los Angelism" in its use of pro-
fessionals in football-Newhall was a -to-
good friend of the University. In 1969,
while tear gas filled the air and troops
stood guard everywhere, Newhall and a
group of Old Blues stood at Sather Gate
and read an elegant statement about
their love and support for Cal-
and offered to put up their
own money, take People's
Park off the University's
hands, and make it into a
real park. That year,
Newhall beganto organize
the group of steadfast sup-
porters into what would
later be known as the
Berkeley Fellows.
He is survived by his
wife Ruth and three sons,
Skip, Jon, and Tony.

Scott Newhall
in the 1970s