Raymond Clapper (1892–1944) was a commentator and news analyst for both radio and newspapersDeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 55 who was described in a ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine article as "one of America's ablest and most-respected journalists."

Early years

The son of a farmer of

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

ancestry, Clapper was born in

La Cygne, Kansas La Cygne (pronounced ) is a city in Linn County, Kansas, United States, and situated along the Marais des Cygnes River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,050. The city is named after the Marais des Cygnes River which is ...

. When he was young, his father moved the family to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

in order to take a factory job to better support his family. Clapper was a graduate of the University of Kansas. In 1915, he was elected editor-in-chief of the

University Daily Kansan The ''University Daily Kansan'' is an editorially independent student newspaper serving the University of Kansas. It was founded in 1904. Its print distribution was only within the university's campus, as well as student apartment complexes throu ...

, the campus newspaper.

Newspapers

In the summer of 1916, while he was still enrolled at the University of Kansas, Clapper worked as a reporter for

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

. That fall, he began working for

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

wire service in Chicago, Illinois. In 1917, he was promoted to manager of UP's Northwest Bureau, which had headquarters in Chicago and served newspapers in western Canada and portions of six states. In 1923, Clapper was transferred to Washington, D.C., to report on politics there. Six years later, he was made the manager of UP's Washington operation. Clapper's success resulted to a large extent from "his objective writing style and his ability to explain the politics and policies of Washington for the average reader." His reputation was enhanced nationally by an exposé, "Racketeering in Washington," that was published in 1933. Later that year he was hired by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. A year later, he began a column, "Between You and Me," which was distributed daily to 176

Scripps-Howard Newspapers The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

newspapers. When he died, Clapper was still officially a political columnist for Scripps-Howard, but he was reporting on the invasion of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Marquis Childs Marquis William Childs (March 17, 1903 – June 30, 1990) was a 20th-century American journalist, syndicated columnist, and author. Early life and education Childs was born on March 17, 1903, in Clinton, Iowa. He graduated from Lyons High Sch ...

took over Clapper's column "Washington Calling" when he died.

Radio

Clapper was a newscaster for the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

in the 1930s and 1940s.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 135. In 1942, he replaced

Raymond Gram Swing Raymond Gram Swing (March 25, 1887 – December 22, 1968) was an American print and broadcast journalist. He was one of the most influential news commentators of his era, heard by people worldwide as a leading American voice from Britain durin ...

on Mutual's evening newscast when Swing moved to another network. A reviewer writing about Clapper's debut broadcast wrote, "His approach is colloquial, colorful and vivid ..." He also "read and interpreted" election results on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in November 1938 and was part of NBC's team of reporters covering the 1940 Republican convention. Clapper's success in newspapers and radio led to opportunities in public speaking. An article in the January 24, 1942, issue of

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

listed Clapper among "top radio names who are currently lecturing or have recently lectured, and who have been getting between $1,000 and $1,500."

Book

In 1944, Clapper's widow edited some of his columns into a book, ''Watching the World.'' It was published by Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. The book was described in a contemporary advertisement as containing "the cream of his work -- columns, broadcasts, articles ... reflecting outstanding events during those critical years." The book included a 32-page biography of Clapper by Mrs. Clapper.

Personal life

Clapper married Olive Ewing in 1913. They had a daughter and a son.

Death

Clapper was killed February 1, 1944, when an airplane in which he was riding collided with another plane during the World War II invasion of the Marshall Islands. "Both planes crashed into a lagoon," a news report said, leaving no survivors.

Legacy

Clapper's legacy included the following: * The

White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

awards the Raymond Clapper Award to outstanding journalists. * The Raymond Clapper Memorial Association was incorporated March 10, 1944, in Washington, D.C. "to perpetuate the memory of Clapper." * The

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

has 75,000 items in its "Raymond Clapper papers, 1908-1962" collection. * In 1944, the

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

was launched in Jacksonville, Florida. It was sponsored by Clapper's widow and daughter and built by

St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company The St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company was created in Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida during World War II to build Liberty ships. Company history The company was established by local shipbuilder and repairer Merrill-Stevens Drydock ...

References

{{Authority control Male journalists