In the city of Mexico (pop. 14,000) on the south fork of the Salt River in Missouri's Little Dixie region, the afternoon Ledger has a four-county daily circulation of about 8,800, turns in a tidy annual profit for its owners and co-editors, L. Mitchell White and his son, Robert Mitchell White II. In the city of New York (pop. 8,000,000) on the east bank of the Hudson River, the morning Herald Tribune has a daily circulation of about 351,000, has returned little profit to its new owner, John Hay Whitney, U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's. This week, in the hope that what has been good for the thriving Mexico Ledger might also be good for the ailing Trib, "Jock" Whitney announced the surprise choice of Robert Mitchell White II, 44. as president and editor of the Herald Tribune.
Since taking control of the Trib last summer, Whitney had been scouring the nation for a man to replace Ogden ("Brownie") Reid, whose family had owned the paper since the death of Founder Horace Greeley in 1872. Whitney's lieutenants consulted the roster of U.S. press bigwigs, invited suggestions from such publishers as Bernard Kilgore of the Wall Street Journal and John Cowles of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. Whitney was politely turned down by several nominees, e.g., Executive Editor Lee Hills of John S. Knight's Detroit Free Press, and turned down several himself after close examination. A newcomer to newspapering, Whitney had never heard of Mexico's Bob White, but, as one Whitney aide explains, "nearly everyone we spoke to mentioned his name; so we got in touch with him." Asked for an opinion. Chicago's Marshall Field Jr.—for whose Sun-Times White had served as a part-time consultant (1956-58)—offered a blue-chip recommendation. Five weeks ago White flew to London, met Ambassador Whitney. Says Horace Greeley's successor: "I told him, 'Come East, young man,' and, fortunately, he has decided to come."
Jaguars & Joining. Known among Missouri newsmen as "a nice guy with a tremendous capacity for work," crewcut, wiry (6 ft. 1 in., 168 Ibs.) Bob White was born in Mexico, Mo., went to the local Missouri Military Academy, then on to Virginia's Washington and Lee University, where he played halfback on the football team. A sometime freelance writer and U.P. correspondent in Kansas City, he served on the wartime staffs of Generals MacArthur and Eichelberger, got a Bronze Star, wound up as a major stationed in the White House on War Department public relations duty.