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History of The New York Times, 1851-1921

by Elmer Holmes DAVIS (1890 - 1958)

Part I. Chapter I. Beginnings of the Times, 1851-1859

A beautifully written and witty history of The New York Times, and of newspaper publishing in general, from the 1850s to 1921 by three-time Peabody Award winner Elmer Davis. Davis provides a detailed history of the founding of The Times; its role in the exposure and demise of the notorious Boss Tweed; its resurrection from near-failure by legendary publisher Adolph Ochs; its role in local and national politics; and how The Times became the dominant newspaper of his generation. Along the way, Davis shares insight into how technology (or lack thereof) influences newsgathering, and reveals The Times' surprising role in some of the major technological advances of the era. Overall, the book is both an uncompromising evaluation of and a love letter to the newspaper at which Davis began his storied career. - Summary by Joanne Turner

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Listen next episodes of History of The New York Times, 1851-1921:
Part I. Chapter I. Beginnings of the Times, 1851-1859, concl. , Part I. Chapter 2. Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1869, concl. , Part I. Chapter 3. The Times and the Tweed Ring, concl. , Part I. Chapter 4. National Politics, 1872-1884, concl. , Part II. Chapter 1. Restoration of The Times, 1896-1900, cont'd. , Part II. Chapter 1. Restoration of The Times, 1896-1900, concl. , Part II. Chapter 3. Modern News-Gathering, 1900-1914, concl. , Part II. Chapter 5. The Times in War: 1914-1918, concl. , Appendix. For the German People, Peace With Freedom. , Part I. Chapter 2. Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1869 , Part I. Chapter 3. The Times and the Tweed Ring , Part I. Chapter 4. National Politics, 1872-1884 , Part I. Chapter 5. The Times in Transition, 1884-1896 , Part II. Chapter 1. Restoration of The Times, 1896-1900 , Part II. Chapter 2. Conservatism, Independence, Democracy: 1900-1914 , Part II. Chapter 3. Modern News-Gathering, 1900-1914 , Part II. Chapter 4. Some Aspects of Business Policy. , Part II. Chapter 5. The Times in War: 1914-1918 , Part II. Chapter 6. The Times Today.