Louis B. Seltzer

Seltzer emphasized the public service aspect of the Press and was personally involved in numerous civic and charitable endeavors.[2] According to Seltzer's obituary in The Wall Street Journal, "With Mr. Seltzer at the helm, the Cleveland Press played an important part in bringing the city such things as downtown redevelopment, a municipal zoo, bridges, highways and parks along what was once a dilapidated Lake Erie waterfront".[3]

As editor of the Cleveland Press, "Seltzer vigorously developed the notion that his reporters were watchdogs for the public over political and governmental affairs".[1] According to a 1950 profile of him in LIFE magazine, "No crook in public office has slept well in Louis Seltzer's regime, although many a crook in private pursuits has doubtless slept like a baby".[5] According to later writer James Neff, "When local government did not function, the Press struck with editorial might, even if it meant using a sledgehammer to crush a gnat. Overkill could be rationalized because the cause was just, for the little guy. Anyone who tried to play outside these rules or who was perceived as looking down on his mostly blue-collar readers, Seltzer enjoyed taking down a peg".[4]

Seltzer also gained a reputation as a "kingmaker"[2] for his use of the paper's influence to help the careers of numerous local politicians, including "Frank J. Lausche, who served as mayor of Cleveland, governor of Ohio and a U.S. senator, Cleveland mayor Anthony Celebrezze, Thomas A. Burke, also mayor and then a U.S. senator, and Supreme Court Justice Harold H. Burton".[3] According to a 1950 LIFE profile of Seltzer, "No civic campaign can get off the ground without his support, although no worthy cause... ever lacks it. For more than a decade nobody has been elected mayor or carried Cuyahoga County for governor without the backing of the Press".[5]

In July 1954, when Sam Sheppard, a Bay Village doctor, was accused of murdering his wife, the Cleveland Press published a series of front-page editorials, some written by Seltzer himself, alleging Sheppard's guilt and pushing for swift, punitive action from the local authorities.[9] The stream of editorials began with the July 20 article "Somebody Is Getting Away With Murder", written by Seltzer himself.[9] The following day, the Press published another front-page editorial, addressed directly to County Coroner Sam Gerber: "Why No Inquest? Do It Now, Dr. Gerber". A few hours after the editorial was published, Gerber ordered an inquest. And on July 30, the Press published an editorial entitled "Quit Stalling – Bring Him In". Sheppard was arrested on a murder charge that evening.[9]

Seltzer and the Press later received harsh criticism for their handling of the case. Federal district judge Carl A. Weinmann, in his 1964 ruling that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial, partially blamed the media, particularly the Press: "If ever there was a trial by newspaper, this is a perfect example. And the most insidious example was the Cleveland Press. For some reason that newspaper took upon itself the role of accuser, judge and jury".[4] The United States Supreme Court ruled on June 6, 1966, in Sheppard v. Maxwell that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial because of the negative publicity he received in the press.[10] F. Lee Bailey, one of Sheppard's lawyers, later wrote that "Seltzer used his newspaper like a club, ordering politicians around like minions and intimidating everyone who disagreed with him. If Seltzer was roused, he would spread a personally penned editorial across eight columns of his newspaper, seeking to grind some unfortunate dissident under his heel".[8]

Seltzer defended the Cleveland Press and his own personal involvement in the case in his 1956 memoir The Years Were Good. Seltzer argued that he was convinced the Sheppard family was involved in a conspiracy to get away with murder and that he personally wrote the editorials, instead of passing them off to one of his employees, out of concern for the safety of his staff.[11]