For the Record
An Oral History of Rochester, NY, Newsworkers
This book can be opened with
For the Record focuses on the experiences of journalists, primarily in their own words, who worked in Rochester, New York, on the Gannett owned Democrat & Chronicle and the Times Union.
While there are occasional glimpses back to the beginning of the twentieth century and conversations regarding current newsroom policies by those who are still involved in the business, most of the material in this study centers on Gannett during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s-a period that may be seen as pivotal to the development of the Gannett Company.
Although there is an enormous wealth of material available on the lives of editors, publishers, and owners of newspapers, the history of newsworkers remains quite limited. Brennen's primary intention for this project is to give voice to these newsworkers, investigating their work environment, routines, and expectations. Journalists shared their favorite stories, best interviews, greatest challenges, and most frustrating experiences with Brennen.
In giving voice to those previously marginalized, this oral history project may help us to reach a deeper understanding of the challenges and realities newsworkers face in the United States.
“Bonnie Brennen has created a first-rate, from-the-bottom-up workers’ history of the two Gannett newspapers that dominated Rochester for generations…. From idealistic copy boys to victims of Al Neuharth’s union-busting, here is an unmistakably true account of lived professional journalism at the grassroots level, warts and all.”---—Michael Real, Director, E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University
What was it like to work for a newspaper in America in the mid-twentieth century? Bonnie Brennen's annotated oral history of journalism in Rochester, New York, offers as detailed and colorful an answer as we are likely to get.---—Michael Real, Editor at Large, Columbia Journalism Review