Pioneers of the Press.  A book–and a legacy to honor and uphold

Sixty-five years ago, my father Gerard Previn Meyer wrote a book called “Pioneers of the Press.”  The publisher was Rand McNally, and the book, republished in paperback as a  Fawcett Publications “Student Edition,” was translated and reprinted in several languages  and  distributed abroad by the U.S.I.A., the U.S. Information Agency.  In 1999, during the Clinton administration, the USIA was subsumed into the State Department, along with the Voice of America.  This year, President Trump by executive order abolished the agency and fired virtually all of its employees, whose mission it was to further democracy abroad.

At the time my father’s book appeared, the McCarthy era with its red baiting and blacklisting was basically over and an attractive young president was ushering in a “New Frontier” with all the aspiration and inspiration it promised to bring.  “Uncle Walter” Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley, and Howard K. Smith from the three major networks brought us the news,  along with several top traditional print newspapers. The civil rights movement was just beginning to stir but was not yet fully stirring. The worst was yet to come, but who knew or could predict that at the dawn of a hopeful new era? I was just 19. No wonder they called us  the silent generation.

The somewhat snazzier paperback cover virtually shouted: “The story of the fearless MEN who risked PRISON, RUIN and even DEATH to establish a FREE PRESS in Colonial America.”  The purpose of Public Occurrences published September 25, 1690, the first American newspaper, was “That people everywhere may better understand the circumstances of publick affairs.” The back book jacket goes on to explain that four days later, “all copies of the paper had been burned, [publisher] Ben Harris was facing a Colonial tribunal, and the free press of America had suffered its first defeat. But the idea of an independent newspaper could not be destroyed, and before long there was another courageous editor, another and yet another, all of whom fought for the right to print the truth as they saw it.”

My father wrote: “To GENE and DEBBY, my son and daughter, and their generation, pioneers of the future, I dedicate this tale of pioneers of the American press who helped to form the great tradition of freedom and truth which they now proudly inherit.”

Currently, when the truth is derided as “fake news” and publishers cower before a wannabe king, Pioneers of the Press could not be any more timely.  Sadly, it is no longer in print, and only a few pages are available to see on the nonprofit Internet Archive at Archives.org.  But the book  should be required reading for all Americans, and on. every public school reading list, as a timely reminder of why what what we journalists do, when we act with courage and conviction, matters for everyone, now more than ever.

Five for Freedom:  Their story still matters.

At Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, a dozen books have been flagged for removal pursuant to President Donald J. Trump’s orders to delete anything that smacks of “diversity, equity and inclusion.”  So far, my book Five For Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army  and books on John Brown remain for sale at the Harpers Ferry Park Association shop on Shenandoah Street in the historic lower town.  If you are looking for a day trip/escape from the DMV, Harpers Ferry is beautiful in the fall.  Or, if you cannot visit the HFPA shop in person,  you may purchase the book online from Bookshop.org, which gives 4% of its profits to indie bookstores. .

Telling the Smithsonian to stop saying “how bad Slavery was,'” Trump has been trying to sanitize our history and revive “the lost cause” of the Confederacy: Ordering statues of the traitors restored to their pedestals, seeking to keep Confederate surnames on military bases, and rehanging a portrait of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the library of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In these times, it’s essential to counter this treasonous narrative by reading books that fairly and fully tell our true unvarnished history.

Heard at the Movies

We recently saw the filmed-live version of the Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “Hamilton” at our local multiplex theater in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland.  I’d largely slept through it when it was on our relatively small screen television streamed on Disney-Plus. But on the big screen, I found it to be absolutely brilliant and riveting, and also a wakeup call, with some very relevant lines, including this duet from the French Marquis de Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton, born in the West Indies: “Immigrants. We get the job done!”

1976 and 2026: A tale of two milestones

As a Washington Post reporter, I covered the natin’s bicentennial in 1976.  Despite early Nixon administration efforts to politicize and commercialize the year-long event, the country at large used the occasion to take stock of its past, present and future.  The celebration came in the wake of Watergate and two years after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace. At last, it seemed, our long national nightmare was over. A new presidential campaign was underway, in which Jimmy Carter bested the accidental incumbent Gerald Ford. I was privileged to cover that as well, from a very local perspective, and both sides ran benign almost collegial campaigns. There did indeed seem to be much to celebrate, as the country witnessed a peaceful transfer of power following the November election.

Now, as the nation’s Semiquincennial — 250th year-anniversary — looms. the mood is different.  The country is deeply divided, and the “leader of the free world” has been busy seeking to make America less free.  What a difference a half century makes!  As #47 was summarily assuming autocratic control over the District of Columbia, his glaring image loomed large on a prominent federal building, with the number “250” underneath, projecting into 2026.  The gigantic banner with a larger-than-life-sized picture of Trump, with a menacing mien, was unfurled and hung from the U.S. Department of Labor building in the nation’s capital.  The department, which historically has existed to bolster the rights and working conditions of Americans, has now officially joined MAGA.

When “Never Again” is not “Never Again.”

In apparent deference to the Trump administration and others who feel the phrase “never again” may not apply to everyone facing a 21st century genocide, the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum recently deleted its Instagram post that said, “Never again can’t only mean never again only for Jews.”   The original declaration arose from the murder of 6 millions Jews by the Nazis during World War II. It has subsequently been invoked in response to more recent antisemitic attacks, and to other instances of mass murder in foreign lands. Many synagogues boldly posted “Save Darfur” signs when that African country was torn by civil war and ethnic cleansing that many called a genocide. The post the museum has now taken down seemed to reaffirm the Jewish commitment to humanity and justice for all across the globe.  Said the museum: “We recently posted an item on social media that was part of a pre-planned campaign intended to promote inclusivity and community that was easily open to misinterpretation by some to be a political statement reflecting the ongoing situation in the Middle East. That was not our intent.” Some critics had inferred the retracted statement also applied to Gazans.

Andre: The Man, the Maestro and the World That Made Him

My WIP (work in progress) is a biography of the musical polymath Andre Previn–conductor, composer, arranger, jazz pianist, recipient of four Oscars and 10 Grammys, the Kennedy Center Honors, and knighted by Queen Elizabeth. He was, coincidentally, my cousin (his grandfather and my great-grandfather were brothers).  He was married and divorced five times, most notably to activist-actress Mia Farrow, and the mostly absentee father of ten, both biological and adopted. He was a German Jewish refugee who eschewed his religious roots but remained fluent in his native tongue, even as he assimilated into American culture and became something of an Anglophile.  He was the principal conductor of orchestras in Houston, London, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, and guest conductor in Vienna, Oslo, Tokyo and Berlin.  He was an unsung mentor to “Star Wars” composer and conductor John Williams and a mentor to many others.

He could be witty, charming and remarkably generous to some, and distant and dismissive to others.  He owed his very existence to my great uncle Charles Previn, musical director of Universal Studios in the 30s and 40s who brought the young wunderkind and his family to Los Angeles and helped launch him on his remarkable musical career but was overshadowed by the young prodigy.   To date, I’ve interviewed four of his children  (my third cousins) and three of his ex-wives and scores of friends and associates, including three of his personals assistants, and his famous friends John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, Tom Stoppard, Renee Fleming, Emanuel Ax, and many others.

So far, I’ve completed 21 chapters and keep finding more material to include.  My original intention was to write a dual biography about “Uncle Charlie” and Cousin Andre, but the market has led me to reframe the narrative to focus primarily on Andre.  So be it. Arts journalist Tim Greiving has just published a very thorough biography of John Williams and has used Substack to promote his book, doling out the backstory of his project post by post. Right now I’m too busy researching and writing to go that route. The road is long and challenging, but I, undaunted, plow ahead, with encouragement from many. So the best I can say right now is: Watch this space!

If you liked reading this blog, please share it with others and invite them to subscribe.  This is not Substack. There is no pay wall. It’s all free!