Roy W. Howard (January 1, 1883 – November 20, 1964) was an American newspaperman with a long association with E. W. Scripps Company. He was president of E. W. Scripps Company and the United Press, and chairman of Scripps Howard Newspapers.
Roy W. Howard | |
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Born | Roy Wilson Howard January 1, 1883 Gano, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | November 20, 1964 New York, U.S. | (aged 81)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | newspaperman |
Employer | E. W. Scripps Company |
Known for | President of E. W. Scripps Company and United Press; Chairman of Scripps Howard Newspapers |
Family | Jack R. Howard (son) |
He began his newspaper career as a paperboy in Indianapolis, Indiana, but quickly moved up. He was a reporter for the Indianapolis Star, then became New York correspondent for Scripps-McRae Newspapers. He quickly made a name for himself and, in 1912, worked his way up to president of United Press.
During the First World War, he served as a war correspondent in Europe, and accidentally sent a false report of the Armistice four days before it was actually signed.[1] Howard's reputation survived and in 1917 he became a Scripps partner, whose name appeared in one of the Scripps subsidiary companies, the Scripps Howard News Service.[2]
He moved to Scripps newspapers in 1920, and, by 1922, he was leading the company, E. W. Scripps Company a position he kept for four decades. On November 3, 1922, the Scripps-McRae League was renamed Scripps-Howard Newspapers to recognize Howard.[3]
Despite his management role, he continued to work as a reporter; in 1933 he went to Manchuria to cover the Sino-Japanese war, interviewing the puppet emperor of Manchukuo Puyi.[4] He also met with Japanese Emperor Hirohito. In 1936 he interviewed Joseph Stalin.
A digitized archive of his personal papers is available via Indiana University.[5]
Two awards presented during the National Journalism Awards/Scripps Howard Awards were named in honor of Howard, including the Public Service Reporting Award (1972–2016) and the Excellence in Innovation Award (est. 2012).