Frank A.Munsey was a vocal proponent of the application of business methods and concepts to the newspaper business from the turn of the century into the 1920s. A man who made great sums of money in the magazine field, especially with Munsey's, he poured his efforts into creating a better journalism than he perceived existed in his day. That he failed in his efforts speaks more of the man than of his prescient insights into the problems of journalism. In his role as publisher of the New York Herald and other newspapers, he helped to elect a president and played an important role in politics.

Frank Andrew Munsey was born in Mercer, Maine, on 21 August 1854 to Andrew Chauncey and Mary Jane Munsey. His father was a farmer and, according to the Munsey genealogist, was a hard worker who held rigid opinions and possessed an intense nature. These...