edward h. harris, jr. (1917-1969)american journalism loses a forthright character and one who has...
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Rudolph G. Leeds (1886-1964) WhenRudolphG.LeedsandhismotherboughttheRichmondPalladiumin1906,itwasastrugglingdailynewspaper.TheyaddedtheSun-TelegramayearlaterandpurchasedtheItemin1929.TheItemcontinuedasaneveningpaperuntil1939whenitmergedwiththePalladium.Bybringingthesepaperstogetherandplacinghispowerfulimprintonthem,LeedscreatedtheRichmondPalladium-ItemandusedittomakehismarkonRichmondandtheworld. Leedscamefromawealthyfamily.HisfatherhadmademillionsasoneofthefoundersofthetinplatebusinessinAmericainthelate19thcentury.RudolphgrewupshufflingbetweenhomesinRichmond,ChicagoandNewYork,buthealwaysconsideredRichmondhishometown. BuyingthenewspaperwasprobablyanattemptbyhismothertobringsomestabilitytoRudolph’slife,andinfacthespenthisremaining58yearsattheRichmondPalladium-Item.Eventhoughhehadnoacademicorpracticaltraininginjournalism,hewasabletousethenewspapereffectivelytosupportcauseshehelddear.
OneofthefirstcauseshesupportedthroughthePalladiumwastheProgressivePartyofTheodoreRoosevelt.LeedswasoneoftheorganizersoftheProgressivePartyin1912.WithhissupportandleadershipinProgressivepolitics,
DearNominatingCommitteeMembers: IamwritingtonominatefourindividualsfortheIndianaJournalismHallofFame.AllfourhaveconnectionswitheachotherandwiththePalladium-IteminRichmond,Indiana.Theirinvolvementinthenewspaperbusinessspansmuchofthetwentiethcentury.Rudolph G. Leeds (1886-1964)purchasedtheRichmondPalladiumin1906andthroughacquisitionsandeffortbuiltitintoagreatnewspaper.Edward H. Harris, Sr. (1880-1937) washiredbyLeedstohelprunthenewspaper.Harriseventuallybecameknownnationallyasanewspapermanwhodealtwiththeriseofradiointhe1920sandbattledthesuppressionoffreespeechunderRooseveltandtheNewDealinthe1930s.Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969),hisson,followedinhisfather’sfootstepsunderthetutelageofRudolphLeedsandLutherFeegar(1977inducteetotheIndianaJournalismHallofFame).ThesoncarriedonthestrongtraditionofthePalladium-Itemandintroducednewpublishingtechnologiestokeepitatthecuttingedge. ThefinalpersonIamnominatingisMark Ferree (1905-1982),whowasabrother-in-lawtoEdwardH.Harris,Sr.AfterattendingIndianaUniversityintheearly1920s,Ferreeworkedatseveraldifferentnewspapers,culminatinginnineyearsattheIndianapolis Times.In1945,hebecameassistantgeneralbusinessmanagerforScripps-Howard.Fouryearslaterhebecamethegeneralbusinessmanager,apositionhehelduntil1969.HealsoservedontheboardoftheRichmondPalladium-Itemfollowingtheuntimelydeathofhisnephew,EdwardH.Harris,Jr.,inordertosmooththetransitionandtoassurethatthePalladium-Itemwouldcontinuetobeagreatnewspaper. Thesefourmenparticipatedinpolitics,fromhelpingstarttheProgressivePartyofTheodoreRooseveltinthe1910stomeetingwithPresidentJohnF.KennedyovernewscoverageofnationalsecretsduringtheColdWar.Theyallbelievedstronglyinthefreedomofthepress.Theyfoughtforwhattheythoughtwasright,fromstandingupforbusinessinterestsinRichmondtostandingagainsttheKuKluxKlanin1920sIndiana.Theyearnedtherespectoftheirpeersandofthepeopleintheircommunity.TheyservedthepublishingindustrybyholdingpositionsintheAmericanNewspaperPublishersAssociation,theInlandPressAssociationandtheHoosierStatePressAssociation.Ultimately,theymadeanimpactonjournalisminIndianaandacrosstheUnitedStates.
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WayneCountybecametheonlycountyinIndianatoelectacompleteandsweepingProgressivelocalticket.LeedswasanationalcommitteemanfromIndianaandremainedastrongsupporteroftheProgressivePartyuntil1916,whenhewithdrewbecausethepartyhadlostitscenterafterTheodoreRooseveltleftthecountry. WhentheKuKluxKlaninfiltratedtheRepublicanPartyinIndianainthe1920sandbegantohaveadeleteriouseffectonIndianapolitics,Leedsstoodagainstit.HeusedthenewspapertospeakoutagainsttheKKK,eventhoughitputhimatpersonalriskandresultedinthewreckingofhisnewspaperplant. RudolphLeedswasanindependentthinker.AlthoughtheRichmondPalladium-ItemwasaRepublicanpaper,LeedshimselfsupportedFranklinRooseveltforPresidentin1932.However,whenFDR’sNewDealcameout,Leedsbecameastrongopponent.Hebelieveditwas“abetrayaloftheAmericansystem;thatitwasdictatorialin
intent,socialisticinpurposeandinimicaltopopularrights.”HeusedthefullpowerofthePalladium-ItemtospeakoutagainstRoosevelt’splan.FDR’sattempttocontroltheSupremeCourtalsocameundervigorouscondemnation. EconomicandbusinessmatterswereofparticularinteresttoLeeds.Hestudiedandanalyzedeconomicsthroughouthislife.Forseveralyearshewroteaweeklypamphletcalled“TheResolve”inwhichhediscussedbotheconomicandpoliticalmatters.In1911,hepublished“TheEqualPriceLaw”asasupplementtothePalladium. Nomatterwherehewasinthecountryorwhathewasdoing,LeedsstayedinvolvedinthePalladium-Itembycallinginonspeakerphoneandgivingdirection.Hemaintainedakeeninterestinthenewspaperandthenewsoftheday,evenashishealthwasfailing.Leedsdiedofaheartattackattheageof78in1964.Inhiswill,heleftasignificantamountofmoneytosupportReidHospitalinRichmondandtosetupafundforPalladium-Itemretirees.
Edward H. Harris, Sr. (1880-1937) RudolphLeedsandhismotherinvitedEdwardH.Harris,Sr.tojointheRichmondPalladiumin1910.LeedsaskedHarristotakeoverthemanagementofthenewspaper.HarrishadpreviouslybeenatelleratthebankwheretheLeedsfamilydidbusiness.LikeLeedshimself,hehadnotrainingorexperienceinthenewspaperbusiness.Nevertheless,Harrisprovedtobeaverycapablemanagerandatalentednewspaperman. LikeLeeds,Harrisstoodupforcausesthatwereimportanttohim.“Intryingtomakethenewspaperstandforthebestidealsandpurposesinthecommunity,IbelievethatIatsometimeorotherlosteveryfriendIeverhad,temporarilyatleast,”Harrisoncesaid.From1926-1928,hewroteaseriesofreportsthatattackedstateandlocalKuKluxKlanpoliticians.HisinfluenceatthattimehelpedtheIndianapolis Times winthe1928PulitzerPrizeforitsexposureoftheKlaninIndiana. HarrishelpedorganizethelocalYoungMen’sBusinessClubandwasactiveinmanyorganizationsthatadvancedthecivicandculturalaspectsofRichmond.WhenanationalcommitteeformedtofoundamemorialtoWillRogers,Harrisjoinedmanyprominentandwell-knownpeopleonit. Inthefieldofpublishing,Harrisservedonseveralcommitteesandplayedanimportantroleintheinteractionsbetweenradioandnewspapersinthe1920sand1930s.ThepositionsheldbyHarrisincludesecretaryoftheAmericanNewspaperPublishersAssociation,chairmanoftheboardof
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directorsoftheInlandPressAssociationandpresidentofthesame,chairmanofthePublishersNationalRadioCommitteeandamemberoftheNewspaperIndustrialBoardandtheCodeCommitteeforPublishersunderFDR’sNationalRecoveryAct.Inthesepositions,hetookaleadingpartinthefighttopreservethefreedomofthepress. Whenbroadcastradiofirstbecamepopularinthe1920s,Harrisdevotedmuchofhisenergytofacilitatingtheinteractionsbetweenradioandtherestofthejournalisticworldinawaythatpreservedthesignificanceofnewspapers.Hegavespeechesatpublishingindustryconferencestopromotecooperationofnewspapersandtheradioindustry,manyofwhichwerereprintedorcoveredinnationalpublicationsincludingEditor and PublishermagazineandtheNew York Times.Underhisinfluence,theRichmondPalladiumbecamethesecondnewspaperinthecountrytobroadcastmarketreportsandprogramsoveritsownradiostation. HarriswaslargelyresponsibleforthecreationofthePress-RadioBureauthatbegansupplyingnewstoradiostationsinMarchof1934.Hewasalsoastrongopponentofgovernmentcontrolofradio,saying,“ifwedestroyfreedomofexpressionoverradio,wemaysoonfindthatradiomaybeusedtodestroythefreedomofthepressbecauseofthepossibilitiesoftremendousemotionalappealinradiobroadcasting.” Inthe1930s,astheUnitedStatesgovernmentconsideredhowtocontroltheflowofpropagandafrom
Hitler’sGermanytoAmerica’sradios,HarrisfoughttomaintainabalanceoffreedomfortheAmericanjournalists.In1934,hetoldtheANPA,“newspaperpublishershavebeenpassingthroughoneofthemostinterestingand,wemightadd,oneofthemosthazardousperiodsinthehistoryofAmericanjournalism.” WhenHarrisdiedattheageof57in1937,tributescamefromacrossthecountrymourninghislossandcelebratinghisimpactonthepublishingworld.ArthurHaysSulzberger,publisheroftheNew York Times,said,“ThoseofuswhowereprivilegedtoknowEdwardH.Harristhroughnewspaperassociationrealizehowconstructivewashisinfluenceonjournalism.”KentCooper,generalmanageroftheAssociatedPress,said,“InthedeathofEdHarris,Americanjournalismlosesaforthrightcharacterandonewhohasmadehismarkuponit.Ihadknownhimintimatelyfor40yearsandshallmissnotonlyhisfriendshipbuthisgoodadvice.”AlfredE.Smith,formergovernorofNewYorkandpresidentialcandidate,said,“IwishtoextendmysinceresympathyonthedeathofEdwardH.Harriswhoduringhislifecontributedsomuchtojournalismandcivicaffairs.”KermitRooseveltcalledHarris“anoutstandingexecutivewhoseinfluencewasfeltfarbeyondtheconfinesoftheStateinwhichhisprogressivepaperwaspublished.” WhentheNew York TimesranhisobituaryonOctober25,1937,itlistedmanyofhispositionsinpublishingassociationsandthensaidsimply“Hewasknownasadefenderofthefreedomofthepress.”
Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969) EdwardH.Harris,Sr.raisedhisson,EdwardH.Harris,Jr.,toenterthenewspaperbusiness.Duringhighschoolintheearly1930s,thefathersentthesontoEuropetoobserveandreportonthehandlingofradioprogramsandnewsbyBritishnewspapers.In1936,hisfathersenthimtoEuropetostudytherelationshipofradioandTVbroadcastingtothepress.TheelderHarrisusedtheinformationfromthesetripsinhiscorrespondencewithotherpublishersabouttherelationshipbetweenradioandnewspapers.
TheyoungerHarrisbeganhispublishingcareerbyworkingatthePalladium-Itemduringsummersandothervacationsfromschool.Followingthedeathofhisfatherin1937,heworkedinthephotoengraving,circulation,newsandadvertisingdepartmentsatthePalladium-Item.Helearnedthenewspaperbusinessundertheoversightofhisfather,RudolphLeedsandLutherFeegar(1977inducteetotheIndianaJournalismHallofFame). From1943to1945,HarrisworkedasassistantcirculationmanageroftheCharleston Daily Mailtolearnmoreabouthowtorunanewspaper.Thenin1945,hereturnedtothePalladium-Itemasassistantpublisher.Sevenyearslaterhe
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becameco-publisherwithRudolphLeeds.WhenLeedsdiedin1964,HarrisbecamepublisherofthePalladium-Item. Followinginhisfather’sfootsteps,Harrisservedonmanycommunityboardsincludingthehistoricalsociety,theRotaryClub,theChamberofCommerceandthelocalassociationformentalhealth.HealsoservedasamemberoftheboardoftheHoosierStatePressAssociationfrom1950to1956andaspresidentfromJuly1954toJuly1955.Likehisfather,hewasamemberofboththeAmericanNewspaperPublishersAssociationandtheInlandPressAssociation. Harrisshowedaninterestintechnologicaladvancesinthenewspaperpublishingindustry.Duringhisfive-yeartenureaspublisher,headdedcoloradvertisingtothePalladium-Itemandinstalledacomputertoaidinthesettingandhandlingoftype. CommunismwasalwaysatopicofgreatinteresttoHarris.HegaveaspeechbeforetheRichmondKiwani’sClubonOctober19,1962toencouragethecommunitytobecomeinformed,alertandactiveinfurtheringAmericanism
andcombatingcommunism.Hepaidspecialattentiontocommunismanditsinfringementuponfreedombystudyingitcarefullyandusinghisinfluencetofightit. Inthesummerof1960,HarriswroteaseriesofarticlesexposingtheleftistleaningsofalocalcampthatwassponsoredbytheAmericanFriendsServiceCommittee(AFSC).TheAFSChadbeensuspectedofsubversiveactivitiesformanyyears,sothearticlesresonatednotonlylocally,butevennationally.Hundredsofreprintsofthearticlesweredistributedtopeopleacrossthecountry. Freedomofcommunication,thepursuitofprivateenterpriseandindividuallibertywereallimportantvaluestoHarris.HestressedtheseinanaddresstojournalismstudentsatIndianaUniversityonJuly27,1958. FollowingthedeathofEdwardH.Harris,Jr.in1969attheageof52,hissonEdwardS.HarristookoveraseditorandpublisherofthePalladium-Item.EdwardH.Harris,Jr.’suncleMarkFerreejoinedtheboardofthePalladium-Itemtohelpsmooththetransitionandtoassisttheyoungsonofthedeceasedpublisher.
Mark Ferree (1905-1982) MarkFerree,thebrotherofEdwardH.Harris,Sr.’swife,alsohadasuccessfulcareerinthenewspaperbusinessinIndianaandbeyond.HewasbornandraisedinMarion,Indiana.DuringhighschoolheworkedasareporterandeditorialwriterattheMarion Chronicle.AfterattendingIndianaUniversityintheearly1920s,FerreeworkedfortheEvansville CourierandtheMiami Herald.Withinafewyears,hehadbeenareporter,copyreader,editor,advertisingsalesmanandbusinessexecutive.LaterhewenttotheWashington(D.C.)Daily News,whereherenewedanIndianaUniversityfriendshipwithNelsonPoynter,whowasthenbusinessmanagerofthepaper.
In1933,hebecameadvertisingmanageroftheDaily Newsuntil1936whenhebecameadvertisingdirectoroftheIndianapolis Times.From1937to1945,heservedasbusinessdirectoroftheTimes.OnJanuary1,1945hewasnamedassistantgeneralmanagerforallScripps-Howardnewspapersandbecamethegeneralbusinessmanagerin1949.HebecameanexecutivevicepresidentandadirectorofE.W.ScrippsCompanyin1952.Heretiredasbusinessmanagerin1969andfromthevicepresidentpostin1970.DuringhisyearsatScripps-HowardheworkedcloselywithRoyHoward. TheIndianaSocietyofNewYorknamedFerree“HoosieroftheYear”in1959foroutstandingachievementinthenewspaperfield.GovernorHaroldHandleyandothertopofficialsfromIndianacametoNewYorktopresenttheawardtoFerree.Alsoin1959,IndianaUniversityawardedhimtheDistinguishedAlumniServiceAward,hailinghimas“journalist,editoranddistinguishedadministratorinthe
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complexworldofnewspaperpublishing.” FerreebecameaboardmemberoftheAmericanNewspaperPublishersAssociationin1955,treasurerin1957andvicepresidentin1958and1959.HeservedaspresidentoftheANPAfrom1960to1962.AsanANPAexecutive,heparticipatedinspecialcommitteeworkonaprogramfornationalpromotionofthedailynewspaper.UponhiselectionaspresidentoftheANPA,hesaid,“newspapersneedtobepromotedasanimportantpartofthepolitical,economic,socialandculturallifeoftheUnitedStates.Andjustassurely,strongcompetitionbetweennewspapersmustcontinue.” WhenPresidentJohnF.KennedycalledtheleadersofU.S.newspaperstotheOvalOfficeforadiscussionaboutpresscoverageofnationalsecretsin1961,Ferreewasamongtheeightnewsmenwhoattended.Twoweekspriortothemeeting,KennedyhadsaidinaspeechthatU.S.newspapersshouldpractice
self-censorshiptosuppressnewsendangeringthenationalinterest.Attheseventy-minutemeetingintheOvalOffice,KennedyandtheeditorsandpublishersinattendancetalkedabouttheresponsibilitiesofthepressinthemidstoftheColdWar. AfterhisretirementfromScripps-Howard,FerreebecameanimportantadvisortoEdwardS.Harris,thesonofEdwardH.Harris,Jr.whohadsucceededhimaseditorandpublisherofthePalladium-Item.FerreeservedasvicepresidentanddirectorofthePalladium-ItemfollowingthedeathofEdwardH.Harris,Jr.in1969until1975,justoneyearbeforethepaperwaspurchasedbyGannett. Oneyearpriortohisdeathin1982,MarkFerreeandhiswifeRuthestablisheda$100,000endowmentforjournalismeducationatIndianaUniversity.TheendowmentnowsupportstheMarkandRuth(Welborn)FerreeScholarshipforundergraduatejournalismmajors.
Conclusion EdwardH.Harris,Sr.ismygreat-grandfather.IamveryproudofhisachievementsandthoseoftheotherthreeIamnominating.IthinktheircontributionstojournalismwarranttheirinclusionintheIndianaJournalismHallofFame. Alongwiththisnominatingletter,Iamsubmittingasampleofeachperson’swork.ForRudolphLeeds,Ihaveincludedhis“EqualPriceLaw”supplementfromthePalladium;forEdwardH.Harris,Sr.,threeofhisreprintedspeeches,twofromEditor & Publisher,onefromajournalcalledThe Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science;forEdwardH.Harris,Jr.,hisarticlesontheAFSCcampcontroversy;andforMarkFerree,twoarticlesabouthimfromEditor & Publisherthatquotehimoften. Ihavemanymorematerialsrelatingtotheseindividualsinmypersonalpossession,includingphotos,correspondenceandwritingsamples.ThepapersofRudolphG.LeedsandEdwardH.Harris,Sr.areheldinanarchivecollectionatIndianaUniversityEastinRichmond.PapersrelatedtothehistoryofthePalladium-Item,RudolphG.LeedsandEdwardH.Harris,Sr.arealsoheldattheWayneCountyHistoricalMuseuminRichmond.Iwouldbegladtoprovidemorematerialatyourrequest. ThankyouforconsideringthesemenforinductionintotheIndianaJournalismHallofFame.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorneedanyfurtherinformation,pleasecontactmebyemailatkevin@harfam.orgorbypostalmailattheaddresslistedbelow.
Sincerely,
KevinB.Harris5230CrescentDriveHilliard,Ohio43026
Email: [email protected]:614-850-0865
Writingsamplesareavailableonlineathttp://www.harfam.org/ijhof