In 1903, he bought the Ohio State Journal with his brother, Harry P. Wolfe.
[1] Robert’s son, Edgar T. Wolfe, Sr., began working for the Journal in 1919 as an advertising solicitor.
Edgar Wolfe also was a banker and civic leader who helped develop air travel at Port Columbus, promoted civic improvements, and supported the growth of hospitals.
Brandweek noted John W. Wolfe's penchant for conservatism: "Long after most papers had shed their political orientations, the Dispatch still served as a mouthpiece for the Republican politics of John W. Wolfe, chairman of parent company Dispatch Publishing.
After the December 1985 demise of the city's other daily, The Columbus Citizen-Journal, the Dispatch had one less incentive to push itself.