Coast Tabloid

This week the count of the nation's tabloid daily newspapers reached 25 when Publisher E. (for Elias) Manchester Boddy changed the name of his Los Angeles Post-Record to Evening News, converted it into a companion for his morning tabloid Illustrated Daily News. Hitherto outstanding event in the Post-Record's, erratic history was an astonishing editorial switch which it made in 1932. Founded by a Labor group in 1895, the Record was bought by the late great Edward Wyllis ("Old Man") Scripps, taken over by his estranged son James, became one of the chain which James's heirs published in partnership with the late Byron Hilton Canfield.* Day before elections in 1932, after both partners' deaths, the 9 a. m. edition of the Record appeared with a front-page editorial boosting its old friend & favorite, William Gibbs McAdoo, for the Senate. One hour later the Record came out with the McAdoo editorial missing, in its place an urgent plea for the election of the Rev. Robert Pierce ("Fighting Bob'') Shuler, Prohibition candidate whom the Record had long flayed as a '"snooper" and "meddler." Readers who thought the editor had lost his mind dis covered that instead he had lost his job be tween editions, been replaced by order of James's son & successor. Edward Wyllis Scripps, 23. Year later the Record changed hands, dropped into stodgy conservatism, lost circulation and advertising. In January 1935 it was bought by E. Manchester Boddy (pronounced Boady). Twelve years ago slight, dapper, pencil-mustached. Manchester Boddy, a gassed and wounded A. E. F. lieutenant, was organizing the Mexican Year Book Publishing Co. He saw his chance to step up in the world when the spectacular publishing ventures of Cornelius (Farewell to Fifth Avenue) Vanderbilt Jr. collapsed; talked the receivers into letting him publish Vanderbilt's Los Angeles tabloid. Publisher Boddy made good his sales talk by building the Illustrated Daily News into one of the Coast's outstanding newspapers, noted for its bold and colorful handling of the news, the advanced economic views presented by Publisher Boddy in his column, "Views of the News." First daily newspaper publisher to take Technocracy seriously, Columnist Boddy is now plumping hard for Social Credit.

In one year Publisher Boddy has boosted the Post-Record's circulation from 43,000 to an alltime high of 81,000, expects to kite it still further as a tabloid. High-voiced, quick-moving, affable, he has a huge estate with electrically-lighted waterfalls in Alta Canyada, Calif., is an efficient horseman, pistol shot and fisherman. He can look ahead to many a Boddy publishing year not only because he is 42 but because his two sons Robert, 16, and Calvin, 14, pitch into newspaper chores with vim and ambition when they go home on vacation from San Diego Army & Navy Academy.

*No connection has the western Scripps League of Newspapers (formerly Scripps-Canfield) chain with the nationwide Scripps-Howard chain.

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