WHEN TRUTH MATTERED
THE KENT STATE SHOOTINGS 50 YEARS LATER
By Steve Wright
Bob Giles’ book, “When Truth Mattered,” was written for me.
Well, I don’t mean only for me.
But it pushes every button I have — in the right way.
My late father Ken worked in the composing room and in other functions at the Akron Beacon Journal, the once agenda-setting newspaper awarded the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the May 4 tragedy.
My dad set type for the breaking news, the following editions and months, then years of nation-leading coverage.
I studied Journalism at Kent State University more than a decade after the shootings.
Taylor Hall hosted all my J-School classes. It was up the hill from the protest gatherings over the U.S. Army’s invasion of Cambodia.
A piece of public art close to the building was pierced by a National Guardsman’s bullet.
Prentice Hall was the dorm where my wife lived for four years. Its parking lot is where the four students were killed.
One of my professors, Glenn Frank, was a faculty marshal that day. Frank risked his life, standing between students and armed guardsman right after the first volley of shots, to save hundreds.
Bob Giles, the author, was a young city editor at the time. He went on to be an executive in editing and publishing with what then was Knight Newspapers.
My dad introduced me to legendary editor-publisher-owner John S. Knight when I was in junior high. He advised me to go into journalism or public service. I did both.
Alan Canfora, who died recently, was one of the most visible protestors. He was shot, survived and went on to become a leading voice for investigation and contemplation of the events at Kent. He also was a friend.
I went on to work at the Beacon. Though I was a night sports clerk, to accommodate my daytime studies, I was drafted at least twice a year to help with local election coverage.
Pat Englehart, the state editor in 1970, led much of the coverage of the shootings on the day of and through dozens of investigations. The smelly cigar-chomping, salty language barking, right out of the movies gruff editor styled in long sideburns, a brushy mustache and bow tie — was a mentor.
He taught me about the real news game, the relentless pursuit of truth and facts. I believe he gave me my first taste of spirits, from a nearly empty bottle of spirits in his bottom desk drawer — to celebrate a deadline met well past midnight.
Numerous other heroes of the Beacon Journal’s coverage — and Giles’ book — helped shape my career as a reporter and writer. Reporters, editors, photographers, artists and copy desk staff too numerous to mention helped the fledgling newsroom career of “Kenny Wright from the back shop’s” boy.
When I followed my wife Heidi (we’ve been married 33 years now) to Columbus when she entered Ohio State Law School, my first full-time newspaper work was at the Columbus Dispatch.
Covering local government in Upper Arlington, where we ultimately bought our first house, I would see Jim Rhodes — the former governor of Ohio and the person I despised the most of many politicians that deserved contempt.
Rhodes, ever the opportunist, was in the race of his life for the Ohio Senate when college campuses started to boil with protests over an unwinnable war in Viet Nam and tens of thousands of young people coming home in body bags.
Rhodes was all-too-happy to turn a bucolic college campus into a war zone, with heavy military equipment, helicopters and poorly-trained National Guard members, already exhausted from guarding truckers during a Teamsters strike.
Rhodes fanned the flames with angry rhetoric aimed at students simply exercising their right to free speech and protest. His hand-picked guard leaders armed guardsmen with live ammunition and bayonets.
I will not go into the blow-by-blow details, but students — many of them simply on their way to class and not even protesting — were mowed down to the tune of four dead and nine injured. One of the nine was paralyzed.
Giles recounts the behind-the-scenes pluck, hard work and doggedness that had the Beacon Journal consistently beating the largest news organizations in the U.S. and the world, on countless stories that told about mistakes and dastardly behavior that spilled blood at a place of learning in Northeast Ohio.
Giles’ book also compares the trust between newspaper of record and local community a half century ago, vs. the chants of fake news and worse today.
He states that many readers sent angry letters. Passions ran high, with some wanting guardsmen charged with murder and far too many more bloodthirsty reactionaries plainly stating that the students had it coming and openly wishing that 10 times more were gunned down.
But regardless of political persuasion, readers generally believed in the credibility of their local newspaper and supported the journalists who worked long hours to shed a light on an American tragedy.
Giles wisely notes the dire consequences of the 21st century, where Donald Trump (my most-despised national politician in history) labels facts he dislikes as “fake news.” He addresses 50 years of change, culminating in an era when Trump and his authoritarian ilk recklessly betray the U.S. Constitution and label the free press as the enemy of the people.
Giles shares some ideas for everyday people to sort the B.S. from the truth, including “welcome the scrutiny of the powerful.”
He also shares the sad news that newspapers, once the bedrock and essential fourth estate, are now hamstrung with deep cuts.
I am one of those who thought he would be a daily newspaper reporter till retirement age, but left long ago because the industry was failing, if not dying.
Proof: The Akron Beacon Journal, winner of multiple Pulitzers, has been bought, cut to ribbons and sold again many times. The 1970s newsroom that unearthed secrets that Ohio’s politicians and National Guard tried to bury — had a staff of 150. Today’s Beacon, not even printed on-site, has a staff of 35.
Steve Wright is an author, essayist and activist based in Miami. He practiced daily journalism for nearly two decades in Ohio and was his editor’s nomination for the Pulitzer Prize for an unprecedented special section published in the Columbus Dispatch. Active on social media (@stevewright64), he contributes stories on planning, urban design, mobility and universal design to leading publications and blogs daily at http://urbantravelandaccessibility.blogspot.com
