..a radio newscast reported on the Chicago Tribune's scoop of the "confession", which 17 yr old Heirens heard in his remand cell. He was incredulous, stating: "I didn't confess to anybody, honestly! My God, what are they going to pin on me next?"
State's Attorney Tuohy also absolutely denied that Heirens had made a confession. The other four competing daily newspapers reprinted the confession in their publications, with Chicago newspapers headlining the story 157 times over the next ten weeks.

As The Tribune wrote later: "The News and Hearst's Herald-American hit the street together with front-page layouts showing Heirens as a Dr. Jekyll (hair combed) and Mr. Hyde (hair mussed). He had not yet been charged with murder, but the Tribune airily convicted him: " HOW HEIRENS SLEW 3 ".

So great was public confidence in the Tribune, that other newspapers reprinted the story solely because the Tribune said it was so. For a while, Heirens maintained his innocence. But the whole world believed his guilt. The Tribune had said he was "Guilty." Heirens had a few supporters in the press. The Left-wing London Sunday Pictorial ran an article called: " Condemned Before His Trial, America Calls This Justice: While all America waits for a man to be charged in one of the most complex murder cases in history, a suspected youth has already been tried in the pages of Chicago newspapers. And he has been found 'Guilty'.”

As late as 1975, the Chicago Daily News was still taking credit for its 'Scoop'.

Quote JK, 2007: "Don't Believe Stories About A Media-Made Demon!"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heirens#Press_influence

www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/13/king_shipman_vid/

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1557316/...pman-on-YouTube.html