Stop the Presses

Rough, tough Louis Ruppel limped into the Manhattan offices of Collier's and cast a sardonic glance around. Most of new Editor Ruppel's worried staff, who had heard about his temper, his Anglo-Saxon expletives and "off-with-their-heads" methods, half-expected to be eaten alive. Editor Ruppel, though still recovering from a spinal operation, did not entirely disappoint them.

In his first week, Ruppel fired Articles Editor Walter Ross and Art Director Tony Palazzo. (Said Palazzo: "It was only the second time I spoke to the guy. The first time was when we were introduced.") Fiction Editor Kenneth Littauer hadn't waited to see what would happen; when he heard Ruppel was coming, he went.

Behind the closed door of his office, headlong Louis Ruppel gave short, private courses in his razzle-dazzle school of journalism. Tearing out a clipping from the New York Times, he bellowed to one writer in his best Front Page manner: "Follow this up!" Summoning another staffer whose bags were packed for a trip to Europe to do a series of articles, Ruppel told him abruptly: "Your junket is off." Big Quentin Reynolds, a top Collier's drawing card, emerged pink and piqued from a personal audience. Several freelance writers who brought in stories assigned by the pre-Ruppel regime got quick service; their pieces were rejected on the spot.

Collier's five-week deadline was too slow for ex-Hearstling Ruppel; he thought he could run the magazine as he had once run a city room. He ripped scheduled stories out of the magazine ("No guts") and changed the makeup. Ruppel wanted to make room for newsy, controversial "inside stories," and he planned to hire reporters on the big U.S. dailies, on a freelance basis, to supply them. Ruppel's remedy for ailing Collier's: "An expose a week."

New Publisher Edward Anthony, who spent several hours a day smoothing feathers ruffled by Ruppel, let the dervish whirl for a while. Then Ruppel cooled off and his staff calmed down. Crowell-Col-lier's top management was prepared to string along with Ruppel: in one year, Collier's advertising linage had dropped 15%, and Crowell-Collier's profits had plummeted from $4,866,000 to $2,419,-ooo. For these deep-seated troubles, a drastic cure was needed. Louis Ruppel was about the most drastic remedy to be found anywhere.

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