He divorced his first wife, Missy, and married again, in 1981, to Bettina Whitaker. In 1980, Chandler stepped down from the position of publisher of the LA Times. He also served on the boards of a variety of civic organizations. He sought legitimacy and recognition for his family's paper, recreating it in the model of the nation's most respected newspapers, notably The New York Times and The Washington Post.ĭuring his years at the paper Chandler received many distinguished awards including honorary degrees, plaques, and certificates from various universities and prestigious institutions, including a lifetime achievement award from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Then, on April 11, 1960, Norman Chandler named his son publisher.ĭuring his 20-year tenure as publisher, Otis Chandler transformed the LA Times. Finally he reached the executive ranks, becoming marketing manager of the LA Times in 1959. On his discharge from the Air Force, his father set him on a seven-year training program in which Chandler experienced every aspect of the newspaper business from the very bottom through production, circulation, mailroom, mechanical, advertising, and the newsroom. He married his college sweetheart, Marilyn Brant, known as Missy, with whom he had three sons, Norman, Harry, and Michael. He continued his athletics, and became a world-class shot putter only a sprained wrist kept him from competing for the United States in the Olympic Games.Īfter graduating from Stanford, Chandler served in the U.S. In 1946, Chandler enrolled in his parents' alma mater, Stanford University, where he majored in history, minored in journalism, and participated in Navy Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). He also experienced a "social awakening" at Andover, coming to appreciate all types of people through his encounters with classmates of different cultures and races. Rising to the challenge, Otis found recognition in sports, with positions on the basketball, soccer, and track teams. Instead of buying him a car when he reached the age of sixteen, his father sent him to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, far from the sunshine and surfing his California peers were enjoying.
The young Otis worked hard on his family's ranch during summer vacations. Otis Chandler's father, grandson of General Otis, although wealthy, did not believe in letting his son live a life of privilege. His great-grandfather, Harrison Gray Otis, had bought the Los Angeles Times in the 1880s and it had remained in the family ever since, used by them to further their political and financial goals. Otis Chandler was born in Los Angeles, California, on November 23, 1927, the only son of Norman Chandler and Dorothy Buffum Chandler, a patron of the arts and a Regent of the University of California. His family did not act that way, nor did those they supported in leading the paper, and thus he was quite relieved when the paper was sold to the Tribune Company, which was run by people he perceived as having a vision of how the media can continue to develop and serve society in the future. Chandler set uncompromising high standards in all that he did, recognizing that the mass media is responsible to the people of society, the nation and the world. Why Chandler retired and remained separate from the paper his family had created, and he had made great, has been the subject of much speculation. He returned to his life of sports, and established a vintage museum to display his hunting trophies along with his many classic cars and motorcycles. However, Chandler did not prepare any of his children to take over leadership of the paper on his retirement. Under his leadership, the paper was recreated as one of the most respected and widely read daily newspapers in the United States. However, he dedicated himself to the task, excelling in the training program his father set up and discovering a love of journalism and passion for the paper.
He became publisher because of his father's plan, not his personal desire, his personal interests being sports such as surfing, auto racing, and hunting. Chandler was the fourth generation of the family dynasty that controlled the paper for over a century.
He was the son of Norman Chandler, his predecessor as publisher, his family having owned the newspaper since Harrison Gray Otis founded the company in the 1880s. Otis Chandler (Novem– February 27, 2006) was best known as the publisher of the Los Angeles Times between 19.
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