Alumni unite for future Daily Bruin support
Editors from past six decades return to reminisce
By Bridget Pride
In the middle of a well-dressed crowd of professionals mingling
in the James West Alumni Center Saturday afternoon, several aged
men stood bickering over the salary of the Daily Bruin night
editor.
The current newspaper staff there exchanged raised eyebrows,
unaware of the position once considered key to becoming
editor-in-chief.
As memories resurfaced and connections were made, Daily Bruin
alumni and current staff compared notes on all that has changed —
and that which stayed the same — for those who have worked at
UCLA’s daily paper from six decades ago to those working today.
The gathering was the first of a newly begun Daily Bruin alumni
association. The group of former editors, writers and managers
traded anecdotes on working at the newspaper and the similarities
they shared in their Bruin experiences.
A Daily Bruin veteran, night editor himself in the mid-1960’s,
offered the sum of $200 a month in the debate over the night
editor’s salary. And Bruin staff from the early 1940’s couldn’t
decide on whether they got paid $5 or $15 a night.
However, those from the 1940s agreed that their pay was just
about enough to cover dinner expenses for whomever came along to
the printer’s to deliver and edit the final version of the
newspaper.
"Back then, we would take the paper down to the Citizen News to
be printed. We’d hand in our copy in the evening, go eat for a
couple of hours and then come back and read the galley proofs,"
said Marv Kleinberg, as he described the now-primitive process of
individual cast typing of the 1940s.
Kleinberg, the night sports editor from 1944-’45, explained that
the process "was all mechanical," which was why they were often at
the printers until midnight.
Today, the same work is completed by the production editor who
still routinely works late into the night.
The founders of the Daily Bruin Alumni Association hope to
provide an organization that will contribute to the training and
development of future Daily Bruin staff. They also plan to
recognize the achievements of today’s members though proposed
achievement awards and scholarships for particularly outstanding
students.
Paramount to these goals, however, "is to have a better alumni
association than the one across town," said newly-elected president
of the board Liz McDannel in reference to the rival Daily Trojan
alumni group.
World War II veterans, baby boomers and yuppies alike displayed
common smiles of recognition at the mention of certain phrases,
such as "Trojan Tragedy," a late-1960’s comic strip, or antics,
like crawling in and out of the old Kerckhoff first floor windows
that used to be the Daily Bruin offices.
More than one former editor could recall power struggles between
the editorial staff and the student council.
Gil Harrison, general editor from 1935-’36, remembered when his
staff threatened to strike when he was removed over a conflict in
his editorial policy with the council. Such experiences at the
Bruin made him appreciate "what wonderful results you can get when
you give people freedom."
In his time, the issues involved his advocacy of diverting more
money away from major athletics to minor and intramural sports.
Besides risking his position, he was doused in dirty mop water by
aroused fans.
McDannel sought to organize ex-Bruin staff members after
regularly keeping in touch with her own group of acquaintances from
the Bruin for over 18 years.
The tightly-knit clique from the mid-1960’s phase of the
newspaper’s production had retained a bit of their idealism from
that era. From this, they decided that they should give something
back to the paper that had given so much to them.
"They had a need and desire to contribute," explains McDannel.
"None of us has any time, but now we have the ‘where with all,’"
she added, referring to their capability to contribute financially
to the organization.
So as a journalist who only works on deadline, she set a date
for the event and worked from there.
As McDannel began researching and contacting old staff members
to inform them of the reunion, she turned up a slew of notable
personas.
Along with Gil Harrison, who was editor of the New Republic for
22 years, McDannel listed Frank Mankiewicz, former president of
National Public Radio; Robert Weil, past president of the
California Judges Association, Steve Muller, President Emeritus of
Johns Hopkins University; and NBC reporter Patrick Healy among the
more successful old Bruin staff members.
Counted among the list of alumni were a minimum of nine with
careers in journalism or writing, and at least 11 lawyers, as well
as a couple of judges.
With this resource bank of alumni, the association hopes to
establish a mentor program to encourage current staff members,
especially for those interested in careers in journalism.
"I think that it’s great that people are getting together," said
Frances Fernandes, current student media adviser.
"They’re a great resource and want to help," she added.
As most people’s terms at the Bruin are limited, the association
might be able to provide some sense of stability to young writers
in a remarkably fast-track area. As Robert Weil remarked, "old
editors never die, they just move around."
Although the terms of the scholarship are still under
discussion, there was mention of naming it after the late faculty
advisor Jim Howard, who provided a warmly remembered sense of
guidance to staff members during the 1960’s and ’70’s. Along with
an "irreverent sense of humor," his widow, Joan Howard recalls, "he
absolutely loved the business of journalism. He wanted it done
right."
Like the proposed scholarship, the exact structure of the
program is still undetermined. However, whether it be through
providing a contact list or actually pairing up alumni with
interested students in common backgrounds, the organizers hope to
offer support for students in a challenging field.