The announcement was treated routinely on an inside page of the Oregonian, Portland's prospering (circ. 245,000) morning daily. City Editor Paul E. Laartz was retiring, and William Arthur Hilliard would replace him. But the appointment of Bill Hilliard marked a belated milestone of sorts in U.S. journalism: he is the first black to rise so high in the editorial hierarchy of a major U.S. daily newspaper.
Black faces are still rare in city rooms, despite an intense search for qualified black journalists that began roughly after the Watts riots in 1965. A recent Government survey showed that only 1.5% of all...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
