Of the 18 papers in his empire, the late William Randolph Hearst was fondest of the San Francisco morning Examiner (circ. 225.000). Beyond being the No. 1 paper in San Francisco, it has long been the best in the Hearst chain, and The Chief gave it a measure of freedom that he granted to no other. The man who won and well used his independence: Publisher Clarence Richard Lindner, who was as different from most Hearst executives as the Examiner is from other Hearstpapers.
A plump, scholarly man with a connoisseur's taste for fine wines and first editions, Lindner's erudition awed his...