1990 Articles

How To Climb The Greasy Pole

Konner, Joan

If success is the guiding star in the murky firmament of this capitalist culture, never were the navigational lanes more visible than in two recent autobiographies of media moguls. "Confessions of an S.O.B." by Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today and builder of the Gannett media empire, and "Succeeding Against the Odds" by John Johnson, founder and publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines. recount the classic rags-to-riches, poverty-to-power story and, in the process, define the values struggle that is the issue of our time.