Wikipedia

Arthur Brisbane

Arthur Brisbane(December 12, 1864 – December 25, 1936) was one of the best-known American newspaper editors of the 20th century, as well as a real estate investor.

Arthur Brisbane
Brisbane,c. 1906
BornDecember 12, 1864
Buffalo, New York,U.S.
DiedDecember 25, 1936(1936-12-25)(aged 72)
New York City,U.S.
Resting placeBatavia Cemetery
OccupationNewspaper editor
SpousePhoebe Cary
Children6
ParentAlbert Brisbane

Biography

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Brisbane was born inBuffalo, New York,toAlbert Brisbane(1809-1890), an Americanutopian socialistwho is remembered as the chief popularizer of the theories ofCharles Fourierin the United States. Albert was the author of several books, includingSocial Destiny of Man(1840), as well as the Fourierist periodicalThe Phalanx.He also founded the Fourierist Society in New York in 1839, and backed several other phalanx communes in the 1840s and 1850s.

Arthur was educated in theUnited StatesandEurope.

Career

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In 1882, he began work as a newspaper reporter and editor inNew York City,first at theSunand later atJoseph Pulitzer'sNew York World.Hired away from Pulitzer byWilliam Randolph Hearst,he became editor of theNew York Journaland Hearst's close friend. His syndicated editorial column had an estimated daily readership of over 20 million, according toTimemagazine.[citation needed]

In 1897, he accepted the editorship of theEvening Journal,flagship of the Hearst chain, and through it gained influence unmatched by any editor in theUnited States.His direct and forceful style influenced the form of American editorial and news writing. The saying, "If you don't hit the reader between the eyes in your first sentence of your news column, there's no need to write any more," is attributed to him.

Hearst biographerW. A. Swanbergdescribed Brisbane as "a one-time socialist who had drifted pleasantly into the profit system... in some respects a vest-pocket Hearst -- a personal Enigma, a workhorse, a madman for circulation, a liberal who had grown conservative, an investor."[1]

From left:William Randolph Hearst,Robert G. Vignolaand Brisbane in New York during the filming of Vignola'sThe World and His Wife(1920)

While an employee of Hearst—at one point boasting of making $260,000 in a year[2]—Brisbane also was known for buying failing newspapers, re-organizing them, and selling them to Hearst. He boughtThe Washington Timesand theMilwaukee Evening Wisconsinin 1918[3]and sold both to Hearst 15 months later.[4][5]He later bought theDetroit Timeson behalf of Hearst.[6]

Brisbane was accused of engaging inyellow journalismhaving published an editorial that called for theassassination of President McKinley.Although the article was pulled by Hearst after the first edition, many still blamed Hearst's journalists for provokingLeon Czolgoszto commit the fatal act.[7]

In 1918, he became editor of theChicago Herald and Examiner,and in the 1920s became editor of Hearst's first tabloid, theNew York Mirror.He remained part of the Hearst media empire until his death in 1936. His daughter Sarah married one of hisDaily Mirroremployees,Tex McCrary,who later became a radio-TV personality with second wifeJinx Falkenburg.

A 1926Timemagazine cover story described his influence:

The New York American, the Chicago Herald-Examiner, the San Francisco Examiner and many another newspaper owned by Publisher Hearst, to say nothing of some 200 non-Hearst dailies and 800 country weeklies which buy syndicated Brisbane, all publish what Mr. Brisbane has said. His column is headed, with simple finality, "Today," a column that vies with the weather and market reports for the size of its audience, probably beating both. It is said to be read by a third of the total U. S. population. Obviously this is an exaggeration, but half that many would be some 20 million readers, "Today" and every day.[8]

Several volumes of Brisbane's editorials were published, including "The Book of Today," "The Book of Today and the Future Day," and "The Brisbane advertising philosophy." At the time of his death, he was considered the "virtual executive director" of the Hearst news and media empire.

Beginning in 1914,Winsor McCayillustrated many of Brisbane's editorials.[9]From 1924 until 1935, artistMel Cummin"originated and drew many of the big, eight-column cartoons" for Brisbane's editorials in theNew York Sunday American,theNew York Evening Journaland occasionallyThe Mirror.[10]Cummin, a well-known member of theExplorer's Club,called Brisbane "a well-informed naturalist," and said the two collaborators discussed the subject of naturalism frequently.[11]

He is also known to have invited the radical journalist and pamphleteerEleanor Baldwinto move toNew Yorkto take up a writing job with him, but she declined the offer to remain at her home in the Pacific Northwest.[12]

Real estate

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Partnering with Hearst, he formed Hearst-Brisbane Properties, investing heavily in New York real estate and developing projects such as theZiegfeld Theatre,theWarwick Hotel,and theRitz Tower.[13]He was instrumental in preserving a large section of land he had amassed in central New Jersey along theJersey Shorebetween 1907 and 1936. It was here that Brisbane built his dream house, a palatial mansion for its time, adjacent to a lake, and complete with a library tower. It was also here that Brisbane and his family could enjoy their favorite sport – horse-back riding. Brisbane transformed the Allaire area from a near-deserted village to a luxurious country estate, complete with a state-of-the-art horse farm, "Allaire Inn," toy factory, a camp for Boy Scouts, and training grounds during the war years. He used his professional connections to bring silent film companies to his property at Allaire, which was used as a backdrop. He even opened up his estate during the Great Depression to "New Deal" work programs. He employed a large staff to take care of his property at Allaire, which at one time was boasted to occupy 10,000 acres (40 km2), though the actual count was closer to 6,000 acres (24 km2).

Brisbane eventually began to explore the history of his property at Allaire and, in the 1920s, became aware of its great historic significance. The Allaire property had formerly beenJames P. Allaire's "Howell Iron Works Company,"a thriving iron-making industrial village of the early 19th century. As early as 1925, Brisbane sought to preserve this property, with its vast natural resources and 19th century village buildings. Although not completed before his death, it was left to his wife, Phoebe Cary Brisbane and her immediate family to fulfill Brisbane's wishes of donating nearly 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) to the State of New Jersey by 1944, including James P. Allaire's 19th century industrial village. The deed contained stipulations that it was to be used for historic and forest reservation purposes, and for nothing else. Moreover, the Brisbane family home served as the Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Center until its recent closure in 2005.

The original Brisbane gift of 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of land forms the heart ofAllaire State Park.Its historic village is dedicated to portraying the life and times of James P. Allaire's "Howell Iron Works Company" largely through the non-profit educational organization,Allaire VillageInc. Efforts were pushed forward at the Historic Village at Allaire in 2006 by Allaire historian Hance M. Sitkus to better interpret Brisbane's career, family, and generosity, focusing on Brisbane as an often-overlooked humanitarian and philanthropist.

Personal life

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Arthur Brisbane monument inCentral Park,New York City

Brisbane was married to Phoebe Cary (1890–1967), the eldest daughter of polo playerSeward Caryand the former Emily Lisle Scatcherd. Phoebe's paternal great-grandfather,New York State SenatorTrumbull Cary,was married to Brisbane's aunt, Margaret Elinor Brisbane.[14]Together, they were the parents of six children:

  • Sarah Brisbane McCrary Mellen (1913–1977)
  • Seward Brisbane (1914–1989)
  • Hugo Brisbane (1917–1933)
  • Emily Brisbane (1918–1959)
  • Alice Brisbane Chandor Tooker (1922–1983), married Lt. Elbert Haring Chandor in 1944[15]
  • Elinor Brisbane Kelley Philbin (1924–2009)

He died inManhattanon Christmas Day, December 25, 1936 and was buried in theBatavia CemeteryatBatavia, New York.[16]

His grandson, Arthur S. Brisbane, was appointed Public Editor ofThe New York Timesin June 2010.[17]

Impact

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At his death, Hearst said, "I know that Arthur Brisbane was the greatest journalist of his day".Damon Runyonsaid "Journalism has lost its all-time No. 1 genius."[18]

Selected published works

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See also

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References

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  1. ^W. A. Swanberg (1961).Citizen Hearst.New York: Galahad Books. pp. 390–391.
  2. ^W. A. Swanberg (1961).Citizen Hearst.New York: Galahad Books. p. 427.
  3. ^"Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers".Chicago Tribune.Retrieved1 March2019.
  4. ^Editor and Publisher.ASM Communications. 1920-01-01.
  5. ^Editor & Publisher.ASM Communications. 1919-01-01.
  6. ^Marketing Communications.1921-01-01.
  7. ^Nasaw 2000,pp. 156–158
  8. ^Timecover storyof Aug. 16, 1926
  9. ^"It was probably in early March 1914 that Brisbane ordered McCay to his office and explained Hearst's new directive: His work in the comics would end within the year. Instead McCay was to devote all of his energy (...) to creating large format pictures to illustrate Brisbane's political editorials." Alexander Braun: Little Nemo in Slumberland 1905 - 1927, Taschen 2014, p.84
  10. ^Back to Nature, the New Daily Feature for Newspapers that was Created on Popular Demandby Mel Cummin, Copyright, 1937, by Mel Cummin (a self-published prospectus for newspaper staffs), p.26
  11. ^Back to Nature, the New Daily Feature for Newspapers that was Created on Popular Demandby Mel Cummin, Copyright, 1937, by Mel Cummin (a self-published prospectus for newspaper staffs), p.5
  12. ^"Eleanor F. Baldwin Obituary".The Oregonian.December 30, 1928.
  13. ^Kurshan, Virginia (October 29, 2002)."Ritz Tower"(PDF).New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. p. 3.Retrieved2021-04-22.
  14. ^"ARTHUR BRISBANE WEDS MISS CARY; Editor Married to the Maid of Honor of a Ceremony He Attended on July 1".The New York Times.July 31, 1912.Retrieved7 June2021.
  15. ^"Milestones, Apr. 24, 1944".Time.April 24, 1944.Retrieved3 September2022.
  16. ^"The Batavian".Archived fromthe originalon 2021-04-20.Retrieved2020-08-04.
  17. ^"Times Chooses a Public Editor, Giving Him a 3-Year Term."The New York TimesJune 22, 2010 p. B6.
  18. ^"The Press: Death of Brisbane".Time.1937-01-04.ISSN0040-781X.Archived fromthe originalon February 9, 2008.Retrieved2016-04-11.

Sources

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