John William Tebbel (1912–2004), was an American journalist, editor, writer, teacher, and media historian. He was known for his four-volume book, ''A History of Book Publishing in the United States'' (1972, Bowker).

Biography

John William Tebbel was born on November 16, 1912, in Boyne City,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

to parents Edna Mae (née Johnston) and William Tebbel. He grew up on a farm and began working as a local reporter for the ''Mount Pleasant Daily Times'' newspaper in Michigan when he was age 14. Tebbel attended Mount Pleasant High School, graduating in the class of 1931. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

(1935) from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

; and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

(1937) from

Columbia Journalism School The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism scho ...

. After graduation, Tebbel served as a reporter for the

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

; an editor of ''

The Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, the largest newspaper in Rhode Island, US. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspaper had won four ...

''; and managing editor of the

American Mercury ''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured wr ...

. In 1943, he joined the editorial team for the Sunday edition of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Tebbel wrote several books about indigenous people of North America. He taught journalism coursework at his alma mater, Columbia Journalism School; and at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(NYU) from 1949 to 1976. Tebbel died on October 10, 2004, in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He was survived by his wife Kathryn Carl and their daughter.

Publications

*Tebbel John William. (1948). George Horace Lorimer and the ''Saturday Evening Post'' St ed.ed. Garden City N.Y: Doubleday. *Tebbel John William. (1952). ''The Life and Good Times of William Randolph Hearst'' St ed.ed. New York: Dutton. *Tebbel, John, and Jennison, Keith. (1960) ''The American Indian Wars'' Phoenix Press, London. *Tebbel John William. (1963). ''From Rags to Riches; Horatio Alger Jr. and the American Dream.'' New York: Macmillan. *Tebbel John William. (1969). ''The American Magazine: A Compact History.'' New York: Hawthorn Books. *Tebbel John William. (1969). ''The Compact History of the American Newspaper'' New and revised ed. New York: Hawthorn Books. * * Tebbel John William (1972).
A History of Book Publishing in the United States: The Expansion of an Industry, 1865-1919
'. Vol. 2. R. R. Bowker Company. * Tebbel John William (1972).
The Golden Age Between Two Wars, 1920-1940
'. Vol. 3. R. R. Bowker Company. * Tebbel John William (1972).
A History of Book Publishing in the United States: The Great Change, 1940-1980
'. Vol. 4. R. R. Bowker Company. * Tebbel, John William and Sarah Miles Bolam. (1985). ''The Press and the Presidency : From George Washington to Ronald Reagan.'' New York: Oxford University Press.

References

External links

John William Tebbel papers
Archives at Yale,

Sterling Memorial Library Sterling Memorial Library (SML) is the main library, library building of the Yale University Library system in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Opened in 1931, the library was designed by James Gamble Rogers as the centerpiece of Yale's Go ...

1912 births 2004 deaths American newspaper editors American newspaper journalists People from Boyne City, Michigan People from Mount Pleasant, Michigan Central Michigan University alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism faculty New York University faculty The New York Times editors Media historians {{US-journalist-1910s-stub