Oral history interview with J. Hugo Warren, 1971.

Biographical Note

J. Hugo Warren was born in Sedley, Virginia on March 2, 1902. He attended school in the South and graduated from the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute in 1924 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Warren moved to Atlantic City in 1925 and began working in the hotel business until moving to Pittsburgh in 1933 to work for the Pittsburgh Courier. He left the Courier to run the Jily News, discontinued the Jily News, and founded The New Observer all in 1960. Warren worked as editor and publisher of the Observer until his retirement. He was married and had three children.

Scope and Contents

In this interview conducted by Henry La Brie III, J. Hugo Warren recounts his early life history in rural Virginia and his career choices that led him to journalism. He discusses: the successes of the black press; the importance of studying the black press; how the societal role of the black press has changed since its creation; how the black press has factored into assimilation; and whether the black press will become part of the white establishment press. He also explains why he believes the black press was not created out of necessity, how the white press is representing minority news, and why it is important for everyone to read black newspapers. Additionally, Warren describes the financing and income of running a newspaper, how to retain talented black journalists, and the differences between the black press and white establishment press.

Subjects

• African American journalists.
• African American press.
• African Americans--Civil rights.
• Interviews.
• Journalism--Social aspects.
• Journalists--Interviews.
• La Brie, Henry G., interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Newspaper publishing--Economic aspects--United States.
• Newspapers--Circulation.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Philadelphia (Pa.)--Newspapers.
• Pittsburgh courier.
• United States--Race relations.
• Warren, Hugo--Interviews.