If the founders returned ...

18 Jun 2007

Missed this yesterday. It was company namesake Edward Wyllis Scripps' birth date (June 18, 1854 – March 12, 1926).

I often wonder what creativity and daring the entrepreneurial newspaper barons of the early 20th century would have brought to the industry's current situation.

Had they lived in this era, they could very well have built empires in completely different markets. But had they chose newspapers, what ideas would have have brought to bear?

They were highly individualistic -- more often than not eccentric -- original thinkers and bare-knuckled competitors who took risks.

These may be times when those very attributes are needed to remake the industry.

Updated: Some info on E.W. Scripps from the James Logan Courier, which is produced by students of James Logan High School's Journalism and News Production classes. The high school is in Union City, CA.

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Posted by Jack D. Lail on Monday, June 18, 2007 at 8:10 AM

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