A Sacred Trust: Nelson Poynter and the St. Petersburg Times

Poynter (1903-1978) was raised in an Indiana newspaper-owning family, attended the state's university and Yale and worked for a number of papers before becoming owner of the St. Petersburg Times in 1938. As University of Florida journalism professor Pierce shows, Poynter blended principles and pragmatism to become a tough idealist. A liberal, he retained his usually Democratic political loyalties in the midst of ultraconservative St. Petersburg. As a newspaper owner, he was an innovator, introducing departmentalization in areas like business, religion and zoned editions. He practiced his credo that participation in the media is a trust and privilege with obligations, and under him the Times won Pulitzer Prizes in 1964 and 1967. Although padded with excessive information about tangential individuals, this biography does justice to a significant contributor to 20th-century journalism. Photos. (Dec.)