To what extent does the person who buys the paper and presses and who pays the salaries of editors determine the editorial position taken? Most would argue that owning a newspaper is a business proposition; therefore, the owner controls the content.

Journalism practice has kept the news side separate from the editorial side. The reporters of the news are to gather news in a fair and balanced manner. The editors write editorials without conferencing with reporters. The editorial voice is the perspective of the owner or editorial board.

Below are listed owners of prominent American publications and the newspapers and magazines they owned. Do some research.

1. Who were/are these individuals?
2. When did they live and own their respective publications? Why did they buy/own their publications?
3. What were significant local and national events during the time of their ownership?
4. What were the beliefs, interests and circumstances which influenced the owners?
5. To what extent did their personal beliefs and desires influence the editorial positions taken by their newspapers?
6. Relate the three most significant stories covered during their ownership? What editorial positions were taken by the publications?

EXTRA CREDIT

You might find it interesting to consider the following quotations after you have completed your research. Can you relate the idea expressed to any of the editorial positions and actions taken by the owners you researched?

“The First Amendment gives you the right to publish information you have, not to get information you don’t already have.”

—Robert Weisberg, law scholar, 1991

“We hold that the greatest right in the world is the right to be wrong, that in the exercise thereof people have an inviolable right to express their unbridled thoughts on all topics and personalities, being liable only for the abuse of that right.”

—William Randolph Hearst, publisher, 1924