Oral history interview with Herbert Nipson, 1971.

Biographical Note

Herbert Nipson (1916-2011) graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1940 with a B.A. in journalism and was the first student of color to serve in the United States Army from 1941 to 1945. Nipson received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1949 and worked for Ebony as a writer and photographer, eventually becoming associate editor, co-managing editor, managing editor, and executive editor.

Scope and Contents

In a 1971 interview conducted by Henry La Brie III, Herbert Nipson details his life history and his time at Ebony. He discusses the effects Ebony had on journalism, how he understands his position as a journalist, and what constitutes black ownership of a black publication. Throughout the interview, Nipson compares the black and white press in their respective news content, technical aspects, effects on assimilation and on society, and how they interact with their readers. He explains the importance of studying the history of the black press and discusses the future of the black press.

Subjects

• African American journalists.
• African American press.
• African Americans--Civil rights.
• Chicago (Ill.)--Newspapers.
• Ebony (Chicago, Ill.)
• Editors--Interviews.
• Interviews.
• Journalism--Social aspects.
• Journalists--Interviews.
• La Brie, Henry G., interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Newspapers--Circulation.
• Nipson, Herbert--Interviews.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• United States--Race relations.