The American Newsroom: A History, 1920–1960

Abstract

The American newsroom was a major force and institution in the United States throughout the twentieth century and part of any journalist's daily life. But most civilians have seldom been in a newsroom, and the only reference most have comes from popular culture, primarily film and television. Will Mari's fascinating book gives anyone a definitive glimpse into not only the physical environment so important to any news operation but also the emotional, professional, and strategic aspects of a “storied gathering spot for news workers … where journalists gathered together, fostering a relational newsroom culture, where values and routines were learned from peers and the terms of work negotiated with superiors” (p. 3). Even if this book was just a recitation of the work in a newsroom from 1920 to 1960, it would still be an interesting addition to the history of journalism. But Mari does much more than that. He paints a picture of the newsroom as far more than a physical workplace by illustrating, through diligent research and a variety of examples, how the newsroom was a complex and aspirational “context, within which American journalism formed” (p. 235). He chronicles the “web of relationships—the centering place for those relationships, a place where a confusing mass of reality was condensed into processed, produced news and distributed to the reading public” (ibid.). His book is filled with stories about the various news workers living in communities collaborating and competing to produce the news: copyboys, copygirls, photographers, reporters, and their junior and senior peers as well as their editors. In chapters about technology and unionization, he shows how both influenced the American newsroom and brought the United States into the twenty-first-century information economy. His material on how the newsroom changed from a blue-collar to a white-collar environment explains a good deal about the kind of news citizens heard about from 1920 to 1960. And Mari's comments on the racism of the century, which permeated any American institution, including the newsroom, do not go unnoticed.