The Press: Round Trip

The distance from Mexico, Mo. to New York City is 1,070 road miles. The difference between the Mexico evening Ledger and the New York Herald Tribune is even greater. Many young newsmen have successfully made the jump between such small towns as Mexico and the Big City. But in the summer of 1959, Robert Mitchell White II, the Ledger's crewcut coeditor and copublisher, decided to make the trip—at top level. He accepted the positions of president and editor of the Herald Tribune.

As of last week, it was plain that Bob White should have bought a round-trip ticket. From Tribune Owner John Hay Whitney, presently U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, came an announcement: on Whitney's return from Britain next January, he will take over as president and publisher of the Trib. Said Whitney: "Mr. White has informed me of his desire to resign [his] offices, and his resignation has been regretfully accepted."

In fact, White had little if any choice. During his 16 months at the Trib, he had made a lot of friends—but they were mostly personal. Circulation has hardly moved: up from 351,000 daily to 352,490. What changes occurred in the editorial face of the Trib were not always his doing; indeed, White generally skipped the editorial conferences about what to put on Page One as well as the daily conferences about what to say on the editorial page. Said White last week: "I came here with the distinct possibility of staying on permanently. It worked out the other way."