Thirteenth Paper

New York's Rochester is a comfortable city. Its population, about 325,000, is not too large for its ample area; it is pleasantly near Lake Ontario; it typifies much of the sturdy Republicanism, the rural conservatism, which mark upstate New York. If it is a question of noted sons, Minnesota's tiny Rochester may boast her famed surgeons, the brothers Mayo, but New York's Rochester answers with Cameraman George Eastman and is content. Good music and much education contribute to its civic culture; civic cleanliness is upheld by the barbers and laundrymen, who set aside one week of each year to ply their trade for the city's children, free of charge. In 1927, the barbers offered up 4,000 free haircuts on the altar of municipal tidiness.

Such a community, self-respecting and of a serious turn of mind, heard last week that a local boy had made good in his own home town. For Frank Ernest Gannett, long a power in Rochester by virtue of his evening paper, the Times-Union, rose to the ranks of the city's greatest, stood close beside Cameraman Eastman, when he went last week to his bankers and borrowed most or all of $3,500,000 to buy the Democrat and Chronicle.

It was the eighteenth paper he had purchased since he became editor and part owner of the Elmira (N. Y.) Gazette in 1906. Mergers and one sale (Twin City Sentinel), Winston-Salem, N. C. (TIME, Aug. 23, 1926) reduced the number of his newspapers to thirteen. He was not in a position to challenge the Hearst or Scripps-Howard chains, *but he had become a dominant influence in upstate New York, an unobtrusive god in a territory of more than 5,000,000 citizens. He is now a man of wealth, insured for $1,000,000, with properties for which he holds $15,000,000 too low a price.

But Mr. Gannett declared the purchase of Rochester's only morning paper was not just another business deal. From Gannett Hill, the highest point of land in Central New York, it is just possible on clear days to see the spires of Rochester's churches. Frank Gannett's father, Joseph, cleared this hill, built the house where Frank was born, 51 years ago. As a boy of twelve he peddled the Democrat and Chronicle. He has never forgotten his "early attachment" for it.

His invasion of the Rochester newspaper field dates from 1918, when he merged the Evening Times with the Union and Advertiser. Good businessman, practical publisher, he has managed his property well. The new Times-Union prospered, raised advertising rates. A dozen department stores, angered by a new high schedule, recently decided to boycott Gannett, refused their advertising. A short deadlock, and business and the press reached a compromise. Gannett and Rochester realized their need of each other. Even as he announced the purchase of the Democrat and Chronicle, the Times-Union was opening a $1,500,000 plant.

The newspaper he has bought celebrates this year its centenary. Substantial and progressive, ft has increased its circulation by 50% in the last seven years, now stands sixth in the nation in classified advertising lineage. It is devoted to the cause of good Republicanism and Mr. Gannett will not interfere. He reassures the doubtful: "It is my belief that a newspaper publisher should be free from any political ambitions. . . . The editor of the Democrat and Chronicle . . . will not have to obey orders ... so long as he is intellectually honest, sincere, fair, tolerant and clean. I do not care fundamentally for money . . . have no special interests ... no axes to grind."

And to those who look askance at newspaper "trusts," who deplore the passing of the individual owner, who do not like to see the advent of the 24-hour newspaper (morning and evening editions), he is first complacent: "In those cities in which I own either all of the newspapers or the only newspaper, the reading public and the advertisers are satisfied that this single ownership has not worked ... to the detriment of the community. . . ."

Thus Frank Gannett made good in Rochester, perhaps the most satisfactory achievement of his life. He paid more for the Hartford Times (TIME, Feb. 6), but he cares more for the Democrat and Chronicle. He is known from coast to coast, but cleanly, comfortable Rochester held the particular puddle in which he wanted to be big.

*Rochester is the largest city yet invaded by Mr. Gannett, the majority of his papers being in cities of less than 100,000 population. The Hearst and Scripps systems are built around great metropolitan dailies. The cities:

Hearst Scripps-Howard Gannett New York (2) New York Ithaca

Baltimore Baltimore Utica

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Elmira (3)

San Francisco San Francisco Newburgh (2) Washington (N. Y.)

Washington (2) Cincinnati Plainfield

Rochester Cleveland (N. J.)

Chicago (2) Indianapolis Rochester (2) Boston Denver (2) Beacon (N. Y.)

Detroit Toledo Olean (N. Y.)

Los Angeles (2) Columbus Hartford

Milwaukee Akron Ogdensburg

Syracuse Birmingham (N. Y.)

Seattle Memphis

San Antonio Houston Oakland, Youngstown

(Calif.) Fort Worth

Albany Oklahoma City

Atlanta Evansville

Knoxville

El Paso

San Diego

Terre Haute

Covington (Ky.)

Albuquerque