Hugh Baillie (October 23, 1890 – March 1, 1966) was an American journalist best known as the head of UP ( United Press Associations), the leading rival to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. As president 1935-1955, he was an overall charge of business operations, and dealings with his correspondents and subscribing newspapers. Baillie was the son of a prominent journalist in New York, and joined UP in 1915 after attending the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. He personally interviewed top European leaders in the coming of World War II, including

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

, and

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...

. He covered the American invasion of Sicily in 1943, and the Belgian campaign in 1944, in which he was wounded. After the war Baillie continued with his interviews of famous world leaders, such as the heads of Japan, China, and the Soviet Union. Baillie was a leader in promoting freedom of news dissemination and called in 1944 for an open system of news sources and transmission, and a minimum of government regulation of the news. His proposals were aired at the Geneva Conference on Freedom of Information in 1948, but were blocked by the Soviets and by France. He strongly supported General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

and his conduct of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, making sure that his reporters and editors covered it thoroughly. At the time of his retirement, UP had 2,900 clients in the United States, and 1,500 abroad.

Primary sources

* Hugh Baillie. ''High Tension: The Recollections of Hugh Baillie'' (Harper, 1959) {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillie, Hugh 1890 births 1966 deaths United Press International people American war correspondents of World War II American male journalists 20th-century American journalists Freedom of the press Place of birth missing Place of death missing

Further reading

Primary sources