The Publisher

Paul Block virtually invented national newspaper advertising, as well as chain and syndicate publishing. He worked on, and shaped, the first Sunday newspaper supplement in the United States. He was the mastermind behind the magazine that enjoyed the largest circulation of any periodical in this country. His hundreds of signed, front-page editorials, from 1916 to 1941, on virtually every public issue of his day, were forceful commentaries that not only sold newspapers, but engineered and influenced legislation. The Publisher, the first biography of Paul Block, tells the story of his rise to the summit of American newspaper chains and chronicles his business and social relationship with William Randolph Hearst. The book reveals Block's influence not only on journalism, but also on the government and politics of his day.