edward h. harris, jr. (1917-1969)american journalism loses a forthright character and one who has...

5
Rudolph G. Leeds (1886-1964) When Rudolph G. Leeds and his mother bought the Richmond Palladium in 1906, it was a struggling daily newspaper. ey added the Sun-Telegram a year later and purchased the Item in 1929. e Item continued as an evening paper until 1939 when it merged with the Palladium. By bringing these papers together and placing his powerful imprint on them, Leeds created the Richmond Palladium- Item and used it to make his mark on Richmond and the world. Leeds came from a wealthy family. His father had made millions as one of the founders of the tinplate business in America in the late 19 th century. Rudolph grew up shuffling between homes in Richmond, Chicago and New York, but he always considered Richmond his hometown. Buying the newspaper was probably an attempt by his mother to bring some stability to Rudolph’s life, and in fact he spent his remaining 58 years at the Richmond Palladium-Item. Even though he had no academic or practical training in journalism, he was able to use the newspaper effectively to support causes he held dear. One of the first causes he supported through the Palladium was the Progressive Party of eodore Roosevelt. Leeds was one of the organizers of the Progressive Party in 1912. With his support and leadership in Progressive politics, Dear Nominating Committee Members: I am writing to nominate four individuals for the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. All four have connections with each other and with the Palladium-Item in Richmond, Indiana. eir involvement in the newspaper business spans much of the twentieth century. Rudolph G. Leeds (1886-1964) purchased the Richmond Palladium in 1906 and through acquisitions and effort built it into a great newspaper. Edward H. Harris, Sr. (1880-1937) was hired by Leeds to help run the newspaper. Harris eventually became known nationally as a newspaperman who dealt with the rise of radio in the 1920s and battled the suppression of free speech under Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s. Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969), his son, followed in his father’s footsteps under the tutelage of Rudolph Leeds and Luther Feegar (1977 inductee to the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame). e son carried on the strong tradition of the Palladium-Item and introduced new publishing technologies to keep it at the cutting edge. e final person I am nominating is Mark Ferree (1905-1982), who was a brother-in-law to Edward H. Harris, Sr. After attending Indiana University in the early 1920s, Ferree worked at several different newspapers, culminating in nine years at the Indianapolis Times. In 1945, he became assistant general business manager for Scripps-Howard. Four years later he became the general business manager, a position he held until 1969. He also served on the board of the Richmond Palladium-Item following the untimely death of his nephew, Edward H. Harris, Jr., in order to smooth the transition and to assure that the Palladium-Item would continue to be a great newspaper. ese four men participated in politics, from helping start the Progressive Party of eodore Roosevelt in the 1910s to meeting with President John F. Kennedy over news coverage of national secrets during the ColdWar. ey all believed strongly in the freedom of the press. ey fought for what they thought was right, from standing up for business interests in Richmond to standing against the Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Indiana. ey earned the respect of their peers and of the people in their community. ey served the publishing industry by holding positions in the American Newspaper Publishers Association, the Inland Press Association and the Hoosier State Press Association. Ultimately, they made an impact on journalism in Indiana and across the United States.

Upload: others

Post on 21-Jun-2020

1 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969)American journalism loses a forthright character and one who has made his mark upon it. I had known him intimately for 40 years and shall miss not

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.

Page 2: Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969)American journalism loses a forthright character and one who has made his mark upon it. I had known him intimately for 40 years and shall miss not

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

Page 3: Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969)American journalism loses a forthright character and one who has made his mark upon it. I had known him intimately for 40 years and shall miss not

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

Page 4: Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969)American journalism loses a forthright character and one who has made his mark upon it. I had known him intimately for 40 years and shall miss not

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

Page 5: Edward H. Harris, Jr. (1917-1969)American journalism loses a forthright character and one who has made his mark upon it. I had known him intimately for 40 years and shall miss not

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