Newsmaker: Roy W. Howard, the Mastermind Behind the Scripps-Howard News Empire From the Gilded Age to the Atomic Age

In the first half of the 20th century, the golden age of newspapers, the colorful, charismatic, and controversial Roy W. Howard reigned as the most famous publisher, editor and journalist of his time. Named one of “The 29 Men Who ‘Rule’ America’” on the front page of the New York Times, Howard built the United Press; was chairman of Scripps-Howard, one of the two biggest newspaper empires in the United States; and was president and editor of the New York World-Telegram. The first global news entrepreneur, he was a model for journalism in the digital age. Howard traveled 2.5 million miles to land unique scoops, and was the privileged confidante of every US president from Woodrow Wilson to Dwight D. Eisenhower. He met privately and conducted one-on-one interviews with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Churchill, and the Emperor of Japan, and advised the most renowned figures of his time, among them a muddled Duke of Windsor, a grieving Charles Lindberg, and a desperate Chang Kai-shek. Based on fifty years of Roy Howard’s privately held diaries, and thousands of pages of his “Strictly Confidential” memoranda, Newsmaker’s author Patricia Beard takes the reader behind the scenes of a turbulent era, and provides background to the role of journalism in the digital age.

About the Author :
Patricia Beard is the author of ten books, including Blue Blood & Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley and After the Ball: Gilded Age Secrets, Boardroom Betrayals, and the Ball that Ignited the Great Wall Street Scandal of 1905. She is a former features editor at Town & Country, ELLE, and Mirabella magazines, and hundreds of her articles have appeared in national publications.

Review :
Roy Howard was one of the most influential newspaper men of the twentieth century. At twenty-five he became general manager of what was then United Press and by thirty-nine he was chairman of the newly renamed Scripps-Howard news empire. He was central to the reporting of two world wars, the Depression, and the creation of the American century. Patricia Beard’s Newsmaker draws on a treasure trove of personal papers to create the full picture of a man who by dint of will and determination helped create a world of journalism that lasted decades. Journalism is always evolving and much can be learned from Beard’s lively and illuminating description of a man who was at the center of global events. Roy Howard was a key player in the golden age of newspaper journalism. From the early twentieth century into the nineteen sixties, his creativity, energy and passion fueled a major newspaper chain, Scripps-Howard, an international news syndicate, United Press, and his own news-making interviews with notables, including Hitler and Stalin in the same week of 1936. He was a confidant of every president from Hoover and FDR to Eisenhower. Newsmaker captures Howard’s flair for living, his innovative accomplishments and his impact on his times. Roy Howard is one of the most remarkable journalism leaders of the twentieth century. He lived the life of three people. For years I have believed that Howard’s story was worthy of a book, or several. Patricia Beard has taken on the challenge and written an extraordinary biography. For much of the twentieth century Roy Howard was one of the nation’s dominant media barons. In Newsmaker, Patricia Beard shows why Howard and the Scripps Howard media empire mattered, and how their work shaped America. It’s a detailed, entertaining read straight out of The Front Page. Veteran nonfiction author Beard (Blue Blood and Mutiny) presents a celebratory biography of Roy W. Howard (1883–1964), the ambitious journalist, demanding editor, and colorful “mastermind” behind the early 20th-century rise of the Scripps-Howard news empire. He accesses decades of diaries and personal correspondence to tell the story of Howard’s ascent from a short-statured Midwestern cub reporter to the dominant cohead of what would become one of the largest and most influential U.S. newspaper conglomerates, all before he was 40 years old. An abundance of detail—historical, professional, and personal—gives the book an impressive credibility that will fascinate many readers, despite the facts alternately tending to weigh down the pace of some of the livelier chapters and anecdotes. Still, this volume succeeds overall in paying homage to Howard’s influence on modern news: fast breaking, in-depth, and delivered with everyday people in mind. VERDICT This well-researched investigation into the life of a news baron is recommended for fans and students of the history of the newspaper industry.