Waring Sees Bright Future In Small Country Weeklies

For the young journalist with "a mission in life," desiring independence in expressing his beliefs while crusading for worthwhile causes, the small town newspaper offers the best opportunities in American today. That is the belief of Houston Waring, editor of the Littleton, Colorado, Independent, and one of the ten Nieman fellows currently studying here.

"It would strengthen the nation," Waring asserts, "to have more men with a knowledge of the social sciences enter the small town newspaper field and become part of their communities. There are unlimited opportunities for helping in matters of public health, race relations, planning and zoning, and economic improvement."

Social Sciences Aid Editors

Eight-time winner of the A. A. Parkhurst award for outstanding community service rendered by a weekly paper in Colorado, Waring feels that a college education in the social sciences is excellent training for a journalist. The student, he says, should learn "the history and ethics of the profession," and, he adds with a smile, "become acquainted with the laws of libel."

It was during his years at the University of Colorado that the soft-spoken editor decided he wanted to manage his own paper. "I spoke to an editor from the largest paper in Colorado," he recalls, "and he told me that three-quarters of the editorials he wrote did not represent his opinion. At that point, I decided that if you have ideas to express, you should have your own organ."

Rural Editors Needed

According to Waring, the majority of the 11,000 weeklies in the United States are edited by men who are merely printers with business acumen. There is a great opportunity for young men with a liberal education to do something for these communities.

The rural weekly, one of the foundations of American democracy, is especially attractive to journalists who desire freedom of expression. Waring believes. "The paper," he explains, "is not swayed by big advertisers, there is no obligation to Washington, and you are right next to the people."

"To be successful, the editor must be considered a part of the community. He needs ideas and energy," continues Waring, who has edited the Independent for 18 years while living in Littleton and has increased its circulation until it is now read by almost all of the town's 2,500 inhabitants.

Fought Gamblers, Ku Klux Klan

The eighteen-year Odyssey of this country editor has included battles against gamblers, the Ku Klux Klan, crooked politicians, and race prejudice. The Independent has consistently led the town's opinion, and is now spurring it on to an unusual war service record.

As Waring sees it, the biggest post-war job for rural newspapers will be in getting communities to "sit" on post-war projects. "For two years after the last war," he explains, "there were plenty of jobs, plenty of money, and things had to be bought at peak prices. Then a depression came." He warns against a similar mad wave of spending following the present war.

Although he feels strange being away from his newspaper and family while resuming academic work, he believes that his studies in Government, Economics, Sociology and Psychology are necessary to bring him up to date and augment his practical knowledge. "It is necessary to be refreshed," he explains, "after a life of action.