students to read free copies of the USA Today and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Transcription

1 Conor McMahon Speaking Stones Every morning at the University of Rochester, The College Readership Program allows students to read free copies of the USA Today and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Across the country, some 11.6 million people daily pick up these papers as well as other papers published by the Gannet Media Corporation. Since its inception in 1906, Gannett has grown to be the largest newspaper publisher in the United States. Its founder, Frank Ernest Gannett, made his earthy home in Rochester and his final resting place in a Section MM, Plot 247 of Mt. Hope Cemetery Buried alongside his wife, Caroline Werner, the Gannett plot features a large black monument bearing the family name and a depiction of a newspaper boy and a small dog. Obviously, the image on the stone is used to represent Gannett s profession as a newspaper magnate. Also, there is a large in-ground monument with an embossed eternal knot inspired motif, with a black glass mosaic background. Traditionally, knot designs symbolize eternity in the afterlife. Finally, two headstones list the names and dates of Frank and Caroline. The life of the man who lies beneath this monument is certainly one that merits its grandeur and elegance. The original in-ground monument was designed by a famous Rochester sculptor and artist, Fletcher Steele. The stone was commissioned in 1959 after the death of Caroline Werner

2 Gannett and cost nearly 3500 dollars. It is made primarily out of granite and volcanic glass, with the granite serving as the embossed knot design and the volcanic glass serving as the background. Years after the deaths of the Gannett s, their son, Dixon, commission the additional stone depicting the newspaper boy. That stone cost 18,000 and was designed by Dixon Gannett himself. The monument was restored in 2011 to repair vandalism as well as regular wear and tear. Frank Ernest Gannett was born in 1857 in the small village of Bristol, NY, some 15 miles outside of Canadaigua. His father, Charles Gannett, was a disabled Civil War veteran who worked as a farmer and a hotel manager. His mother, Maria Gannett, spent long days raising four children and helping Charles in his endeavors when she could. The Gannett s, far from wealthy, relocated all over Upstate New York during Frank s childhood in search of better opportunities (Williamson). Despite his family s financial woes, Frank proved to be industrious and thrifty at an incredibly young age. Frank started his work in the newspaper business before the age of ten as a delivery boy. Frank delivered dozens, and eventually hundreds of copies of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and various other daily newspapers, newspapers he would some day come to own (Williamson). In addition to his delivery service, Frank gained the reputation of a businessman by composing letters home for Italian immigrants who couldn t read or write English. Eventually,

3 he sold rubber stamps with the immigrants relatives addresses to the immigrants to expedite the letter writing process. Word of Frank s industrious qualities spread quickly and he soon took on a number of business ventures, making him the household breadwinner before he even entered high school (Williamson). When the time came, Frank attended Bolivar High School and quickly emerged as an exceptional student. It was at Bolivar that Frank developed his passion for reading and reporting the news, choosing journalism as his life path. In his final year at Bolivar, Frank scored higher on the New York State Regents Exams than any student had ever scored at that time. With these scores and upon the recommendation of Bolivar Principal A.J. Glennie, Frank matriculated at Cornell University on an all-expenses paid scholarship (Williamson). At Cornell, Gannett s dream of being a journalist became a reality. By the end of his freshman year, Gannett had become the editor of the school newspaper, the Cornell Sun. Shortly thereafter, articles written by Gannett were published in the Buffalo News, the Boston Globe, the New York World, and other newspapers across the Northeast. Gannett took a job as a regular columnist for the Ithaca Journal during college and after his graduation, earning an honest 15 dollars per week (Williamson). Shortly after Gannett graduated, President William McKinley asked Cornell President Jacob Schurman to lead a commission to the Philippines to study the islands and recommend how the best government for them. Schurman called on Gannett, a favorite student of his, to

4 act as secretary of the Commission for a sum of 3000 dollars and all traveling expenses paid. Gannett jumped at the opportunity and left for the Philippines (Williamson). In the far east, Gannett established himself as a great communicator. He learned Spanish and soon acted as a bridge between the natives and the visitors. Thanks to his ability to carry out tasks effectively, Gannett earned the nickname Can Do, as in Frank Gannett Can Do anything you need him to do. During his time in the Philippines, Gannett became a strong advocate for self government among the natives, and warned against the influence of colonialization. When he was asked to participate in a second commission, he declined so that he could return home and pursue his ambition of being a journalist. Upon his return to Ithaca, Gannett was offered the position of city editor of the Ithaca News by one of his ex-professors, Duncan Campell, who had bought the paper. While the job with the Ithaca Journal paid significantly less that the Philippines commission, Gannett accepted the job and became the newest city editor of the Ithaca News (Williamson). After a short while, Gannett rose through the ranks and became the business manager of the News. He now managed both the editorial content and the marketing and financial responsibilities. As business manager, Gannett brought the News out of the red and put them steadfastly in the black. However, shortly thereafter, Gannett left the Ithaca News due to increased political influence and corruption among the ownership. He left and sought a job in

5 New York City as a subeditor of Leslie s Weekly. However, the publisher of Leslie s Weekly, a father of one of Gannett s Cornell classmates, recommended him as a prime candidate for Editor of the Pittsburgh Index, a startup magazine. Gannett took the $75 per week position and left Ithaca for Pittsburgh (Williamson). It was on his way to Pittsburgh that Gannett s train stopped for lunch in Elmira, New York. Gannett deboarded and headed for the Langwell Hotel for Lunch. There, Gannett heard that half of the ownership of the Elmira Gazette was for sale. Gannett never ended up reboarding his train to Pittsburgh. Instead, he headed northwards to Albany to meet with David Hill, the man selling his half interest in the Gazette. Hill, upon meeting with Gannett, offered his share of the paper to him to $20,000, considerably more than the somewhat meager $3,000 Gannett had in savings. Gannett, never discouraged and still determined to own the paper, took out loans and borrowed money from friends to cover the difference and in 1906 at age 29, Gannett owned his first of a very many newspapers (Williamson). It didn t take long for Gannett, along with his co-owner Erwin Davenport, to make the Gazette hugely successful. Before long, Gannett orchestrated a merger with the other major evening newspaper in Elmira, the Star. Under the merger, Gannet and Davenport as well as the Star s co-owners, Woodford Copeland and James Woodford would all share quarter ownership. The Elmira Star-Gazette became the lone evening newspaper in Elmira and thrived without any major competitors (Williamson).

6 After experiencing such success with the Star-Gazette, Gannett looked to expand his ownership to different papers. Similar to when he bought the Gazette, Gannett heard that ownership of the Ithaca Journal was for sale. Gannett went to the same investors that helped him purchase the Gazette, and they again helped him to purchase the Journal. By 1912, It was easy to see that Frank Gannett was on his way to being a major player in the newspaper business across the country (Williamson). After the acquisition of the Ithaca Journal, Gannett, along with his partners, focused his attention on two of the major newspapers of Gannett s hometown, Rochester. The Rochester afternoon paper scene was compromised of three major players at the time Gannett decided he wanted to expand his journalistic enterprise to the Genesee Valley. Two pro-republican papers, the Post-Express and the Times were pitted against a Democratic Party supported paper, the Union and Advertiser. While the price tags were much higher than those of any of the other papers Gannett owned, he, along with Davenport and Copeland were able to move in and purchase the Rochester Times as well as the Union and Advertiser. Seeing it fit to merge the papers, Gannett and company combined the Democratic Union and Advertiser and the Republican Times into a politically independent Rochester Times-Union. By 1922, the Times Union had overtaken its rival, the Post Express and became the major evening newspaper in Rochester (Williamson).

7 While in Rochester, Gannett befriended Mr. and Mrs. James E. Werner. The Werner s were a wealthy family, with Mr. Werner serving as a Judge on the New York State Court of Appeals. Gannett soon became infatuated with the Judge s daughter, Caroline, who was 17 years his junior. After a short two months of acquaintance, Frank Gannett and Caroline Werner were engaged to be married, and on January 26 th, 1920, the couple wed. In 1923, upon the retirement of Copeland and Davenport, Gannett formed Gannett Co., Inc., a holdings and operating company. At Gannett Co s. inception, Gannett owned six papers in five cities across Upstate New York (Williamson). After the formation of Gannett Co., Inc., the company began to accumulate more and more papers across Upstate New York and even into New Jersey. Further, Gannett focused on acquiring the first newspaper company he ever worked for, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. The Democrat and Chronicle, the leading morning newspaper in Rochester was also the only one in the area that was a member of the Associated Press. In 1928, Gannett Newspaper Co. bought the Democrat and Chronicle outright and named it its flagship newspaper. Additionally, the Times-Union gained Associated Press membership on the coattails of the Democrat and Chronicle, and Frank Gannett was becoming a more renowned newspaperman each day. In 1929, Gannett revolutionized the news industry with his invention of the teletypesetter. The teletypesetter system allowed text to be transferred all over the northeast

8 using telegraph, radio, and microwave lines. Gannett s invention allowed news to be shared through print in newsrooms all over the northeast. The teletypesetter, which can be thought of as one of the most primitive forms of , streamlined newswires across the Northeast and between each of the newspapers owned by Gannett (Gobert, et. al.). Gannett soon became interested in more than just newspapers and in 1932, WHEC, the Rochester affiliate of Colombia Broadcasting became the first radio holding of Gannett Co., Inc. Much like its newspaper holdings, the Gannett Co., Inc., would move to own and operate several radio stations across the northeast (Gobert, et. al.). Initially, Gannett and his newspapers advocated on behalf of Roosevelt and the New Deal. However, after Roosevelt tried implementing his infamous Court Packing scheme in which he tried to place more pro-roosevelt justices on the Supreme Court, Gannett withdrew support. In 1940, Gannett sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States to challenge Roosevelt. Under the slogan of Frank Gannett: Our Best Bet, Gannett challenged but lost the party nomination to Wendel Willke, who eventually went on to be defeated handily by Roosevelt (Gobert et al). Gannett remained active in national politics for the rest of his life. In 1942, he was appointed assistant chairman of the Republican National Committee. He spent time and resources opposing the Roosevelt and the New Deal all throughout his Presidency. In 1946, Gannett was invited by the United States War Department to visit and report on the American

9 occupation zone in Germany. For the rest of his life, Gannett was a strong advocate for the addition of a Department of Peace to the President s Cabinet (Gobert Et Al). Despite failing health and old age, Gannett managed to remain active in both politics and his newspaper business. In 1957, Gannett died of bronchial pneumonia at his home in Brighton, NY. He was 81 years old (Mt. Hope). The company the Gannett left behind would grow to become what is today, the largest publishing and media company in the United States. More Americans read Gannett papers today than those produced by any other publisher, and it all started in Rochester with Frank Ernest Gannett, one of Mt. Hope Cemeteries finest residents (Gannett Company, Inc.).

10 Works Cited "Gannett Company, Inc. -- Company History." Find Funding with Banks, Investors, and Other Funding Sources FundingUniverse. Web. 02 Nov < Gobert, Tamberly, Alexandra Lipsky, and Elaine Engst. Guide to the Frank E. Gannett and Caroline Werner Gannett Papers. Digital image. Cornell University Library. Web. < Mount Hope Cemetery Plot Books Williamson, S. T. Imprint of a Publisher; the Story of Frank Gannett and His Independent Newspapers. New York: R.M. McBride, Print. Williamson, S. T. Frank Gannett: a Biography. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1940.

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