40 years ago - Boston became a 2 newspaper town

[A Joseph Ross]

On 6/18/2012 9:24 AM, Karen McTrotsky wrote:

> Missing entirely from present-day accounts is any reference whatever to
> Herald-Traveler Corp.'s considerable political muscle. We never see
> mention  in  reviews of the WHDH affair of the owners of H-T Corp. The
> "Yankee Republican" Boston Herald was owned by the same group of folks who
> owned United Shoe Machinery Corp of Beverly, a Yankee Republican owned
> industrial concern with considerable muscle. The other United States
> Senator at the time was Leverett Saltonstall, Yankee Republican from
> Beverly Farms. Both Kennedy and Saltonstall needed friends in newspapers
> and, to a lesser extent, in the new medium of television as neither had won
> 50 percent of the vote in the elections in the ethnic Democrat vs. Yankee
> Republican senate races of Lodge-Kennedy in '52 or Saltonstall-Furcolo in 56

According to Wikipedia, Saltonstall won 50.5% over Foster Furcolo 49.0% 
in 1954 (not 1956).  In 1952, Kennedy won 51.4% over Henry Cabot Lodge 
48.4.  That looks like narrow wins, but each won more than 60% of the 
votes cast.

In any case, the accounts I've read indicate that Joe Kennedy did much 
to help the H-T get the TV license, and it was more Tip O'Neill, not the 
Kennedys who helped the Globe and worked to take the license away from 
the Herald.

-- 
A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004
617.367.0468|Fx:617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com