Walter Lippmann and the American Century — 22 The End of the World

1. 1. The New York World suffered from declining readership and advertising revenue by the late 1920s, shrinking to half the size of the rival Times.
2. 2. Lippmann urged the World to adopt objective reporting and compete with the Times, but the paper tried to be all things to all men and failed.
3. 3. By late 1929, the World was losing a million dollars a year, and Herbert Pulitzer took control, firing eighteen veteran reporters despite Lippmann's pleas.
4. 4. Lippmann considered leaving journalism to write books and essays, but felt obligated to stay during the critical times.
5. 5. In February 1931, Herbert Pulitzer informed Lippmann he was selling the World to Scripps-Howard for five million dollars, breaking JP's will.
6. 6. Lippmann preferred the World's clean death to becoming an instrument for ambitious politicians and financiers like Bernard Baruch.
7. 7. The World had a circulation of 320,000 daily and 500,000 Sunday at its sale, and could have been salvaged if the Pulitzers had held on for another year or two.
8. 8. James M. Cain criticized Lippmann as a bored editor who lacked interest in the job, calling him a 'poet of ideas' rather than a diligent editor.
9. 9. Lippmann argued that good newspapers would ultimately drive out bad ones, as readers tired of sensationalism and desired sober, reliable coverage.
10. 10. After the World's sale, Helen Reid offered Lippmann a position at the Herald Tribune to write signed editorials, promising complete freedom to differ with the paper's policy.
11. 11. Lippmann chose the Herald Tribune over offers from the World-Telegram, Hearst, and the New York Times, valuing the freedom to make his own mold.
12. 12. Lippmann's column 'Today and Tomorrow' debuted on September 8, 1931, and became an overnight sensation, syndicated to 100 papers within a year.