Roy W. Howard Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

Roy W. Howard (1883-1964) was president of United Press (1912-1920) and chairman of the board for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain (1921-1936). Howard got his start in newspapers delivering the Indianapolis Star and News to help support his family after his father's death. He got a job as a cub reporter at the News and eventually worked his way up to full reporter there and sports editor at the Star. Howard then moved to the Cincinnati Post, owned by Edward W. Scripps, and soon became New York correspondent for Scripps' newspaper chain Scripps-McRae Newspapers. When Scripps formed UP in 1907, Howard became the news service's vice president and general manager. As president of UP, Howard expanded the service's reach overseas by hiring American reporters to cover European news instead of relying on government-controlled foreign news services. At Scripps-Howard, he pushed investigative and public service journalism and sought columnists with a wide range of viewpoints and politics. He also continued reporting; some of his biggest coups were breaking news of the World War I armistice four days early and being the first American reporter to interview Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Howard retired in 1953, but remained active in Scripps-Howard until his death.