DOCUMENT RESUME ED 362 913 CS 508 347 TITLE Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (76th, Kansas City, Missouri, August 11-14, 1993). Part I: Journalism History. INSTITUTION Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. PUB DATE Aug 93 NOTE 466p.; For other sections of these proceedings, see CS 508 348-362. For 1992 proceedings, see ED 349 608-623. Some illustrations may not reproduce clearly. PUB TYPE Collected Works Conference Proceedings (021) Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC19 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS American Indians; Colonial History (United States); *Journalism History; Mass Media Role; *Newspapers; Photojournalism; Presidents of the United States; Pueblo (People); Socioeconomic Status; World War II IDENTIFIERS Black Newspapers; Ford (Henry); Foreign News; *Investigative Journalism; *Media Coverage; Muckraking; Political Cartoons; Poole (Ernest); Scopes Trial; Taft (William Howard) ABSTRACT The Journalism History section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 15 papers: "Henry Ford's Newspaper: The 'Dearborn Independent,' 1919-1927" (James C. Foust); "Redefining the News?: Editorial Content and the 'Myth of Origin' Debate in Journalism History" (Elliot King); "'Nonpublicity' and the Unmaking of a President: William Howard Taft and the Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy of 1909-1910" (Stephen Ponder); "The Rise of Ernest Poole: The Making of a Social Muckraker" (James Boylan); "'The Sculking Indian Enemy': Colonial Newspapers' Portrayal of Native Americans" (David A. Copeland); "News before Newspapers: A Perspective on News Values" (Richard Streckfuss); "The Evolution of a Practice: Investigative Journalism 1960-1975" (James L. Aucoin); "The Re-Emergence of American Investigative Journalism 1960-1975" (James L. Aucoin); "The Poor Rich and the Rich Poor--How Newspapers Perpetuated Values" (Paulette D. Kilmer); "The Scopes 'Monkey Trial' Revisited--Mencken and the Editorial-Art of Edmund Duffy" (S. L. Harrison); "Sketches of Life and Society: Foreign News and Correspondence in the 'New York Tribune,' 1841-45" (Ulf Jonas Bjork); "The Founding of Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., and the Fledgling Organization's Conduct of the Arizona Project: A Time of Trial and Triumph" (Maria Marron); "Battling Prejudice and Poverty: The Antebellum Black Press and the Struggle for Survival" (Jane Rhodes); "The Power of Editorial and Historical Context: A Photo History Interprets World War II for Americans" (Patsy G. Watkins); and "'A Square Deal for the Pueblos'? The 1920s Press Covers an Indian Controversy" (Mary Ann Weston). (RS) PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION (76TH, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, AUGUST 11-14, 1993). PART I: JOURNALISM HISTORY. U.S. D(PATMINTC tOUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Once of Educalmnei Neemech end intemeenewe MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOUNCESINFOMATION CENTER (ERIC) 111Tnm document hes been feeToduCed SS fectetved from Me plush lu orgensulloon 0441r104104 0 Minor Menges hereMen ~Is IS ~am nt0tOduCh011 P pm% CA view of otemone Meted on the docu- TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ment do nol necseeenty feemeent camel INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." OEM POIMeNt of POICY t) BES7 COPY AVAILABLE Henry Ford's Newspaper: The Dearborn Independent, 1919-1927 A Paper Presented to the History Division, AEJMC National Convention, August 1993 James C. Foust Ohio University PhD Student 2 Andover Dr. Apt. H-11 Athens, Ohio 45701 (614) 594-2167 3 Henry Ford's Newspaper: The Dearborn Independent, 1919-1927 "It's pretty bad, Mr. Ford," Harry Bennett toldhis boss. "I don't care how bad it is," Henry Fordreplied, "you sign it and settle the thing up." Bennett tried to read part of the apology over the phone to Ford, but Ford did notwant to hear it. "I don't care how bad it is," Ford repeated,"you just settle it up."1 Bennett was one of Ford's personal assistants,and on this day in July 1927, he was signing an apology to Jewsfor the anti- Semitic attacks that had appeared in Ford's newspaper. By the end of 1927, largely as a result of theprejudicial assaults, Ford's nine-year career as a newspaperpublisher was over. Ford started his journalism career in 1919,when he purchased the Dearborn Independent, a small Detroit-area newspaper with about 700subscribers. Until the end of 1927, he used the paper to publicize not himselfdirectly, but the views he held dear: the need for monetary reform,the evils of liquor and the virtues of hard work and family life. His influence also resulted in two anti-Semitic campaigns in the paperwhich historian Robert Lacey called "a sustained outpouringof preju- dice the like of which has not been seen inAmerica, before or since."2 Ford's genius for mechanical pursuits, which brought an affordable automobile to the masses in the earlytwentieth 4 century, was accompanied by surprising naivete in dealingwith matters outside of the realm of mechanics andengineering. He possessed, said Current Opinion magazine in 1916, an"appalling simplicity,"3 and the Dearborn Independent represented that fact perhaps more than anything else in his life. While other events, such as when he spent nearly $500,000 in 1915 to sailhis so- called "Peace Ship" to Europe in the hope of stoppingthe war, illustrated his naivete as well, none has left such anenduring legacy as the Dearborn Independent. This study is a historical perspective of the Dearborn Independent's nine-year run from the beginning of 1919 tothe end of 1927. Ford's anti-Semitism has been well-documented, andthe Dearborn Independent's role in disseminating hisprejudice has been studied as well.4 This study, however, will take a broader view of the newspaper. The anti-Semitic campaigns, their origins, and their effects will be examined, but the purposealso will be to chronicle the operation of the Independent as a business from 1919 to 1927. Along the way, several aspects of the paper's operation will be emphasized,including the way Ford used his dealer network to expand the paper'ssubscriber base, the infighting among members of the paper's staff,and Ford's inability to find success in journalism as he had in theautomob- ile business. The sources used for this study includeexisting works on FOrd's life and anti-Semitic feelings, newspaper andmagazine articles from the period, and the contents of the Dearborn Zndependent. In addition, resources in the FordArchives at the 5 knt, Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, provided insight into the day-to-day operation of the paper. Although the Dearborn Independent's internal and editorial files were destroyed by the Ford Motor Company during the 1960's, information useful for this endeavor remains in the Ford Arch5ves.5 Henry Ford has been credited with many things, from perfecting modern mass production techniques to creating America's middle class. This study will look at one of his least successful ventures, and show how a man who achieved phenomenal wealth through his mechanical genius faced failure-- and ultimately humiliation--in journalism. Henry Ford Buys a Newspaper Henry Ford had toyed with the idea of starting his own newspaper as early as 1914. He had become friends with E. G. Pipp, editor of the Detroit News, and confided in him his desire to some day become a publisher.6Finally in 1918 Ford was ready to begin his journalistic venture, and he brought Pipp on as editor. Offices were established at a former Ford tractor factory, which would later lead Detroit Saturday Night to call the Independent "the best weekly ever turned out by a tractor plant."7Pipp began to assemble a staff, choosing mostly from the ranks of Detroit newspapermen. Ford was eager to promote his new venture, and late in 1918 he announced his retirement as head of the Ford Motor Company so he could devote more time to the Independent: I am very much interested in the future, not only of my own country but of the whole world, and I havedefinite ideas and ideals that I believe are practical for the good of all. I intend giving them tothe public without having them garbled, distorted,and misrepresented.8 By this time, Ford waswell aware of the value ofthe press, and had used it to his advantagein publicizing events such aswhen he raised the wages ofhis factory workers tofive dollars a day in 1914. However, he was unhappywith the press criticism of his Peace Ship expedition andalso felt he was treatedunfairly when he ran for the U. S.Senate in 1918. Having his own press outlet, thought Ford, wouldhelp him get better coverage. Ford, who promised thathis newspaper would not beafraid first to discuss new viewpoints oncontroversial issues, said the issue would be out January 2,1919.9But by December he became alarmed at the lack of progressPipp was making in gettingthe Liebold, paper going. He told his generalsecretary, Ernest G. "You who was currently stationedat Ford's Detroit offices: better go out to Dearborn. They don't seem to begetting anywhere."1° Liebold had already establishedhimself as one of Ford's favorite "yes" men andin so doing had earned a reputation for being ruthlessani power hungry. Fred Black, the Independent's business manager,would later say thatLiebold's desire for power was "almostlitlerian."11 When Liebold arrived at theDearborn Independent's offices, he found "a lot ofpeople running around withnothing to do" and promptly fired abouthalf the staff. Those who remained daily log those were watched closely,with Liebold noting in a who arrived as little as twominutes late. From the moment of Liebold's arrival it was he, notPipp, who ran the Indepen- dent.12 7 Ford began calling his favorite Independentwriters "good mechanics," and the staff had a running joke abouthis desire to apply mass-production techniques to the newspaper. They claimed he rushed into the editor's office one dayoffering the concept that every article should start with a baretitle, and then each writer would contribute a small portion of thecontent, much like the way Model "T"s were built in hisfactories.