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Page 6 -The Michigan Daily Centennial Edition- Friday, October 19, 1990
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Photographer
turns law writer
for NY Times
1st woman editor loses $3 and editorship
by Jennifer Hirl
Margolick
by Sarah Schweitzer
"So you think I've come a long
way," queried David Margolick as he
moved his rocking chair back and
forth inhis 14th story apartment on
'New York City's West Side.
Now a columnist for the New
York Times, Margolick has certainly
come a ways since his first dabble in
journalism as a photographer for The
Michigan Daily.
Margolick's column, "At the
Bar," which deals with quirky as-
pects of the law and the legal profes-
sion, appears every Friday in the
New York Times. From time to
time, Margolick also covers hard
news stories concerning the law.
Despite his success as a journal-
ist, journalism was not among
Margolick's future plans when he
was a Daily staffer 20 years ago.
Margolick joined the Daily pho-
tography staff in 1971 when he was
a sophomore. By his senior year,
Margolick had been promoted to
head photographer.
Despite his love of photography,
Margolick feared that he wasn't a
good enough photographer to make a
go of it professionally so he went to
Stanford Law School.
Upon completion of law school
and faced with the prospect of having
to actually practice law, Margolick
kturned to writing for legal periodi-
cals. Eventually he made his way to
the New York Times as a law writer
at the metro desk. A few years down
the road, when the New York Times
decided to publish a law page,
Margolick was asked to write his
weekly column which would be
complete with a cartoon.
While Margolick readily admits
he considers himself lucky for
having found a profession he loves
and feels as passionately about as the
day he started, he credits his humble
beginnings at the Daily for fueling
his love of journalism.
"The Daily was like an oasis. On
a large campus where it's hard to
find your place, it gave me a place to
go in between classes and fraternize
with friends," Margolick said.
It was at the Daily that
Margolick was able to find the peo-
ple with whom he felt most com-
fortable. Margolick recalls the kin-
dred spirit he felt with other Daily
staffers because they were "interested
in events, a little bit neurotic, color-
ful, imaginative and not indifferent."
While he clearly relishes the
years of 1971-1974 which he spent
at the Daily, Margolick can't help
but lament his arrival at the tail end
of what he terms the "heyday" of the
Daily.
By "heyday," Margolick refers to
the period of the mid to late 60's
when the Vietnam War and the draft
were news items which had a direct
and personal effect for many stu-
dents. In order to keep up with de-
velopments in the war, students
turned to the Daily and thus thrust
the Daily into the spotlight and
made it an integral part of student
life.
The result of this newfound atten-
tion and relevancy in the student
body was an attraction of the bright-
est and most talented students to the
Daily staff. It was during this period
that such illuminous names as Tom
Hayden served as Editor.
Despite regrets for missing the
"heyday" of the Daily, Margolick
was not completely exempt from the
anti-war sentiments which fueled so
many explosive news stories of the
1960's.
In the spring of 1973, Margolick
headed out to Route 23 to pho-
tograph an anti-war protest for the
Daily. While observing the crowd,
Margolick was mistaken for a
protestor and knocked to the ground
by police. Margolick recalled that
the other Daily photographer on the
scene could not decide whether to
take the picture or come to his res-
cue. The picture in the Daily the
next day of a police officer with a
raised fist above Margolick's head
serves as testament to that photogra-
pher's decision. A framed copy of
that photograph sits prominently on
the wall of Margolick's apartment.
In addition to violent brushups
with police, Margolick's memories
also include the fun Daily staffers
had with the men who worked down-
stairs at the printing presses.
"All the men had middle
American names: Myron, George,
Arch, Merlyn, Kermit, Pete,"
Margolick said. "College is such an
ivory tower and there were real work-
ing class people. It was a taste of re-
ality."
In reflecting on the Daily in re-
cent years, Margolick expressed re-
gret that the Daily began to
distribute papers for free in 1985 due
to financially difficulty.
"If people stopped reading the
Daily because they couldn't rustle up
a dime, it's sad. A college paper is a
reflection of a community; if people
don't go out for it and read it, it's a
terrible indictment of the college
campus," Margolick said.
While David Margolick's journal-
istic endeavors have carried him quite
a distance from his starting point at
the Student Publications Building,
rocking back and forth, Margolick
contemplatively and nostalgically
remarked, "The Daily still is a home
to me more than any other Ann
Arbor institution."
1918 was a momentous year for
the Michigan Daily. It was a year
when American soldiers began
fighting in World War I, but it was
also the year the Daily hired its first
female managing editor, Mildred
Mighell Riorden Blake.
The war was the catalyst which
hastened Blake's move into the
managing editor position. Since ev-
ery male with significant experience
at the Daily was sent to the service,
the editor position was left open for
a woman.
"There was a student army train-
ing corps in Ann Arbor that fall.
The men were enlisted in it and they
had to be in barracks and in bed be-
fore the Daily went to press," Blake
said.
Blake said the male staffers al-
ways treated her with respect. "I
don't remember that there was any
disrespect by the men on the Daily. I
was doing the editorials and almost
everyone agreed they were good edi-
torials. And people respect some-
body who is doing good work. I
didn't feel that I had any complaints
against my fellow workers at the
Daily," Blake said.
Blake's editorship, however, was
not smooth sailing all the way, and
soon enough hit rough waters. One
night in January, after attending a
concert, Blake came into the Daily.
She found three students and an re-
porter for the Detroit News playing a
game of poker. Blake and the three
others lost a little over $3 to a
novice first-year student.
"This was before the days of
Thanatopsis and Inside Straight Club
and the Algonquin Round Table, but
even then, poker was part of a news-
paper legend. All I remember is be-
ing amused, a little startled. How-
ever, the game was over, or so I
thought," Blake said.
The poker game on that cold Jan-
uary night was not forgotten. The
first year student who won the poker
game wrote in, his journal: "Won
$3.67 at poker.".
Two days later the Board discov-
ered the entry and took action against
the staff. They did not approve of
gambling at the Daily.
"It just happened that at that
time, there was a strong puritanic
streak at the close of WWI and peo-
ple were in a nervous state," Blake
said.
Soon after the incident, The De-
troit Free Press published a story
with a headline that read, "300 Stu-
dents Involved in U. of M. Poker
Scandal."
"The Free Press couldn't believe
the faculty could make such a fuss
about one single game with only
four players and a pot of only three
or four dollars. In order to make a
good story out of it, they multiplied
it by a hundred - it didn't seem
plausible to them that the faculty
could make such a fuss about one
game. They exaggerated it," Blake
said.
Despite the Daily staffers'
protests that the incident was exag-
gerated, students involved in the
poker game were punished.
One of the female students was
ordered to be practically confined to
the new Martha Cook Residence
Hall for the rest of the year. She got
married, however, and escaped.
Blake was demoted to editorial
writer for failing to report the poker
incident.
Rumors were spread that the
game had been strip poker. "I heard
that there were people who specu-
lated that it must have been strip
poker or the faculty wouldn't have
been so upset. But actually that was
not one of the charges against any-
body. It just shows you how exag-
gerations occur. People make an aw#
ful big fuss about a small matter,"
Blake said.
The poker uproar brought Blake's
Daily years to a close. Soon after-
ward, she went to work for the
Adrian Telegram and married Vincent
Riorden.
Blake spent many years working
for Young & Rubicam, where she
won the 1941 Advertising Award fo
"Advertising as a Social Force."
Blake later became a founder of
the World Federalist Association and
vice president of the American
Movement for World Government.
Blake said that after more than
36 happy years of being "elderly,"
her favorite game is Scrabble, not
Poker.
Daily graduates prove once a
journalist not always a journalist
by Jennifer Hiri
Over the past 100 years, more
than 4,000 students have passed
through the Daily working as edi-
tors, reporters, and photographers.
For many, the Daily was a vital part
of their years at Michigan and set
them on a course to a lucrative writ-
ing career.
Philip Slomovitz, a 1920 Uni-
versity graduate, had a smooth tran-
sition to print journalism after grad-
uating from the University of
Michigan. Slomovitz worked for the
Detroit News for three years after re-
ceiving his degree and then became a
columnist for the Detroit Jewish
Chronicle, which he later bought and
renamed the Detroit Jewish News.
Not all Daily alumni have chosen
to work in print journalism, but
rather have gone into other literary
pursuits.
Joseph Gies, a 1939 graduate,
works with his wife Frances Carney
Gies, a 1937 graduate, writing books
about the Middle Ages.
"I originally got interested in
technology history and I had an idea
for a book on the engineering his-
tory of a city," Gies said. "My friend
at Harpers' was looking for an au-
thor for a book on a medieval city
and so I began to look into it."
Among the books Gies and his
wife have written is one called Mar-
riage in the Family in the Middle
Over the past 100 years, more than 4,000
students have passed through the Daily
working as editors, reporters, and
photographers. For many, the Daily was a
vital part of their years at Michigan and set
them on a course to a lucrative writing
career.
tied Good Evening Mr. and Mrs.
America: Walter Winchell and the
Culture of Gossip.
"It focuses on the evolution of
the gossip column using Walter
Winchell as the armature for how
gossip arose, how it changed our
sensibility, and how it affected our
perceptions of the world," Gabler
said.
Gabler has also written an award-
winning book titled How the Jews
Made Hollywood. Gabler has re-
ceived numerous awards for his
work, including the Los Angeles
Times Book Award and the Out-
standing Work on Radio, Television,
and Film. He was also nominated for
the British Film Institute Award for
one of the five outstanding books on
media in the world.
Many other Daily alumni have
received notable awards for their
work.
Fred Neal, a graduate of 1937, re-
ceived the Nieman Fellowship at
Harvard for his work in journalism
and has also received the Fulbright
Fellow at the Sorbonne University
in Paris. He has written for
numerous papers, including the
Trans Radio Press, the Omaha World
Harold, the United Press, and the
Wall Street Journal.
The Daily, however, was not the
starting point of Neal's career. "I
wasn't new to journalism when I
came to the Daily. My family ran a
newspaper in Northville, Michigan,
of which I was the editor on and
off."
During his years at Michigan,
Neal continued to expand his experi-
ence in journalism. "I did all kinds
of things," Neal said. "I traveled
around and I interviewed all the pres-
idential candidates in 1936. It was a
great experience, and of course it all
helped in a great many ways."
Top 18statesforDai6y alumni
From sea to
shining sea
Michigan
734
New York
267
California
208
Illinois
196
Ohio
102
Flo rida
71
Marland
P en ns/v an i a
5
Massa ch u sset ts
62
New Jersey
58
Washington D.C.
51
Connecticut
41
Vir inia
Indiana
37
Missouri
30
A ri z on a
38
Wi sc on sin
23
Te xa s
23.
Six years ago, he sold the Detroit
Jewish News and was honored as the
Editor Emeritus.
"I started writing a column called
"Purely Commentary" back in either
'25 or '26 and it has not been inter-
rupted for a single week and it's still
appearing today," Slomovitz said.
Although Slomovitz has recently
suffered a loss of vision, he contin-
ues to write his column.
"I'm able to do typing which has
to be very carefully watched, re-read
by my reader who can sometimes
change sentences," Slomovitz said.
Ages, a main selection in the
History Book Club.
E U.
Other Daily alumni have ventured
into several of media related areas.
Neal Gabler, a 1971 graduate who
worked as a film critic for the Daily,
is one such example.
In 1982, Gabler replaced Roger
Ebert in one episode on the Siskel
and Ebert television show, "At The
Movies."
Today, Gabler is a fellow at the
Gannett Center for Media studies at
Columbia University and is working
on a book that will tentatively be ti-
Shoulder to the rock
by Ronan Lynch
As the sun sets on Santa Monica pier,
people are making their way to the en-
closed carousel, which is spinning mer-
rily, throwing light out onto the board-
walk. Small knots of street people are
gathered near the door, mumbling at the
passers-by - "Any spare change? Spare
a buck, buddy?"
Inside the carousel, Tom Hayden is
also looking for money. He is raising
funds for Proposition 128, the environ-
The next morning, Hayden is sitting
in his office, taking a break from the
campaign. His environmental proposi-
tion is taking a beating from the chemi-
cal industry and its odd of passage are
languishing at 50-50. He looks frus-
trated.
"All you do is wake up in the morn-
ing and fight the power, as they say," he
says, "and occasionally there's some syn-
chronicity, you get progressive govern-
ment and you can get somewhere.
again.
Hayden's battles began as a student in
Ann Arbor, where he involved himself
with The Michigan Daily. As an aspiring
writer at the Daily, he enjoyed expressing
himself in words, but was not comfort-
able carrying a picket sign. His attitude
changed over the summer of 1960 as he
covered the civil rights protests.
Rising to editor of the Daily that
summer, Hayden wrote a series of articles
proclaiming a "new student movement".
Administration officials warned that he
my journalist's notebook. King was say-,ad e
ing that each of us had to be more than'*
neutral and objective, that we had to
make a difference. That was something I
realized I always wanted to do."
Back in Ann Arbor, Hayden became
one of the seminal members of Students
for a Democratic Society, which spawned
the student movement of the sixties. He
went to Mississippi in 1962 to partici-
pate in voter registration drives, and was
beaten and jailed. He is still remembered
with hatred for his early opposition to
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