Herbert Brucker (1898–1977) was a journalist, teacher, and national advocate for the

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

. Brucker served as editor-in-chief of the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'', a newspaper published in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, for 19 years (1947–1966). He also served as president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. During his career, Brucker authored four books.

Early life and education

Brucker was born in

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

on October 4, 1898. He attended the Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School) in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

and

East Orange High School East Orange High School was a comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from 1891 to 2002 in East Orange, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. For most of its existence, the school ...

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

. Brucker received his bachelor's degree from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...

in 1921. He then completed his master's degree in journalism at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. Following his graduation, Brucker spent a year studying at the Sorbonne and the École pratique des hautes études in Paris, France through a

Pulitzer Fellowship The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made hi ...

Journalism career

Brucker first worked as a reporter at the ''

Springfield Union ''The Republican'' is a newspaper based in Springfield, Massachusetts covering news in the Greater Springfield area, as well as national news and pieces from Boston, Worcester and northern Connecticut. It is owned by Newhouse Newspapers, a div ...

'' (now ''The Republican'') in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. After completing his graduate studies, he joined ''

The New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

'' in New York City to serve as assistant editor and editorial writer for the Work section. Brucker later served on the editorial staff of the ''

Review of Reviews The ''Review of Reviews'' was a noted family of monthly journals founded in 1890–1893 by British reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912). Established across three continents in London (1891), New York (1892) and Melbourne (1893), t ...

'', a monthly magazine, and as a writer for the '' North American Review''. During World War II, he worked for the

U.S. Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

, a federal agency, for two years (1942–1943). Brucker served as chief of their Media Division and then as associate chief of their Bureau of Overseas Publications. He then joined the Hartford Courant as its associate editor (1944-1946) and then editor-in-chief.

Academic career

In January 1932, Brucker received an appointment as assistant to the

Carl W. Ackerman Carl William Ackerman (January 16, 1890 in Richmond, Indiana – October 9, 1970 in New York City) was an American journalist, author and educational administrator, the first dean of the Columbia School of Journalism. In 1919, as a correspondent o ...

, dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in Manhattan. After receiving an appointment to professor, Bruckner taught at the school until the 1940s.

Legacy

The American Heritage Center at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated 32,711 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. Located on the Laramie River in southeastern ...

houses Brucker's papers from 1930 to 1979. The center's collection contains scrapbooks of articles from the Hartford Courant, Brucker's speeches, his plaques and awards, and photographs of him.Inventory of the Herbert Brucker papers, 1939-1977
/ref>

Family

Brucker first married Sydney Seabury Cook. They had three children: Christopher and Thomas, and Sydney. After Seabury died in 1950, Brucker married Elizabeth Spock. She had two children from a previous marriage: William and Anthony.

Works

* The Changing American Newspaper (1937) * Freedom of Information (1949) * Journalist (1962) * Communication is power: unchanging values in a changing journalism (1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brucker, Herbert 1898 births 1977 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni East Orange High School alumni Morristown-Beard School alumni People of the United States Office of War Information Writers from East Orange, New Jersey Writers from Passaic, New Jersey Williams College alumni