Hannah Kern

Historical Leader Analysis

Often in our technology orientated and fast past lives we tend to over
look the various companies we interact with on a daily basis. One of the most
important companies is our news outlets, now a days ranging from
opinionated Facebook status to investigative journalist. But, where did the
idea of the freedom of press on a national level first develop? Some say it
was with the start of one of today's largest news sources, the New York
Times. The New York Times is one of the most well known new publications in
the United States and internationally.
However, the person who owned the company is often over looked. Mr.
Adolph S. Ochs the owner of the New York Times evidently is one of the most
important historical leaders of his time in the field of free speech,
investigative journalism, and ultimately setting the precedent for today's
news outlets. As a result, I decided to conduct my historical leader paper on
Mr. Ochs to emphasize the importance of working from the ground up in an
industry and how that can help a person become a great leader in the
company.
First, before I can explain why Mr. Ochs was a great leader in his
respective disciple it is important to explain his background. According to the
New York Time obituary on Mr. Ochs, he grew up working since a very young
age. He originally started working in the newspaper industry as a " as an

office boy and printer's devil in Knoxville, Tennessee." Then, at the young age
of only twenty years old "he took charge of a bankrupt small-town
newspaper." Personally, I believe this is a very important fact to note
because it proves he had a clear understanding of the business he would one
day run. So, when he asked his employees to complete a task he understood
the demands of that specific task and how it should be properly
implemented. This directly correlates to the leadership concept of technical
skills explained in Northouse on page 44. Because, the whole concept is that
the leader displays, "proficiency in a specific type of work" and growing up
the industry would allow Mr. Ochs to do that.
Next, Mr. Ochs essentially started at the bottom of the corporate ladder
he developed the human skills (also discussed on page 44 of Northouse)
because he knew what it like to be in the lower employee positions.
Furthermore, Mr. Ochs demonstrated the importance of ethical news
journalism, that mindset ultimately changed the news industry and
investigative journalism. For instance, according to the New World
Encyclopedia, "In 1896, at the age of 36, he again borrowed money to
purchase The New York Times, a money-losing newspaper that had a wide
range of competitors in New York City. His focus on objective news reporting
(in a time when newspapers were openly and highly partisan), and a welltimed price decrease led to its rescue from near oblivion, increasing its
readership drastically." This directly correlates to trait leadership on page
twenty-five. According to Northouse, " Integrity is the quality of honesty and

trustworthiness. People who adhere to a strong set of principles" This

quality is immensely important because it allowed Mr. Ochs to inspire other
to report factual news and not what allegedly happened. Also, the price
decrease allowed the news to become more available to everyone and not
just an elite part of society.
Finally, it is important to analyze what type of person Mr. Ochs was. I
think his personality from what I researched is best summed up in a quote
published in New World Encyclopedia, In response to the question of what
gives life meaning to him, Ochs commented that: I inherited good health and
sound moral principles; I found pleasure in work that came to my hand and
in doing it conscientiously; I found joy and satisfaction in being helpful to my
parents and others, and in thus making my life worth while found happiness
and consolation. My Jewish home life and religion gave me a spiritual uplift
and a sense of responsibility to my subconscious better selfwhich I think is
the God within me, the Unknowable, the Inexplicable. This makes me believe
I am more than an animal, and that this life cannot be the end of our spiritual
nature."
That quote is so important because it shows the type of person Mr.
Ochs was, he was a grounded humble person that relied on his faith and
family to steer his life. I personally found it very admirable that Mr. Ochs
references his faith so openly and clearly identifies it as something that
guides his life. Often, people in leadership position tend to glorify themselves
and contribute to their ego rather than recognizes there is a bigger force out

their than oneself. This is important in leadership particularly because if we

only focus on ourselves it can possibly lead to one of the negative
personality factors discussed in Northouse, which is neuroticism. The
textbook on page 27 describes Neuroticism as, "the tendency to be
depressed, anxious, insecure, vulnerable and hostile." And, I think if a leader
only focused on his or her self it would become very easy for them to
possess those qualities. However, if a leader glorifies their faith, and has a
strong "moral principle", hard work, and strong relationships with their
families and support system that allows them to become the best leader
they can be. Clearly, Mr. Ochs is a prime example of that.
Additionally, the positive qualities discussed above that are evident in
Mr. Ochs quote lead to him have another important trait for all great leaders,
sociability. Northhouse defines sociability as, "inclination to seek out pleasant
social relations." Mr. Och's did this in two ways. First, he established strong
ties with his family and friends. Also, he established sociability with the
public because by making the New York Times affordable to everyone he
created a line of communication between all the classes, which lead to this
unique relationship specifically between New York Times readers, and the
paper. While this may not be the traditional application of this term I believe
it applied here because it proves Mr. Ochs made an effort to establish
relations with the every day working class American by making his paper
affordable and thru his emphasize on investigative journalism. Which
correlates the previous trait discussed, trustworthiness. So, Mr. Och's was a

great leader because not only could he form these unique relationships but
he could also earn and keep the readers trust by reporting factual nonpartisan stories.
Evidently, Mr. Ochs was a revolutionary figure at his time. Although, his
impact on society did not stop there he continued to inspire news publication
to emphasize their right to the freedom of speech and investigate and report
on news ethically and responsibly. Mr. Och's proved that if you work hard you
can accomplish great things. He showed, the importance of working up in an
organization and risking it all it all to fulfill your life dream. It could not have
been easy for Mr. Och's when he bought the New York Times at only thirty
years old but his story can continue to inspire young business men and
women today to take chances and if you work hard enough you too have the
opportunity to succeed. Next, he showed the importance of producing work
with integrity and purpose even if the standard is not set that way, because,
in the long run you will gain more people trust by being a genuine and
honest leader.

Work Cited

"Adolph Ochs." New World Encyclopedia, . 11 Feb 2015, 17:48 UTC. 18 Sep
2015, 03:51 <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?
title=Adolph_Ochs&oldid=986577>.

Gerald W Johnson, An Honorable Titan: A Biographical Study of Adolph S.

Ochs. (Harper and Brothers, 1946 ISBN 9780837138367)

Northouse, Peter Guy. Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th ed. Thousand
Oaks: SAGE, 2016

Talese, Gay. 2007. The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at The
New York Times: The Institution That Influences the World. Random House
Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 9780812977684
Tifft, Susan and Alex Jones. 1999. The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family
behind The New York Times. Diane Pub Co. ISBN 9780756787127
THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS. "Adolph S. Ochs Dead at 77; Publisher of
Times Since 1896." On This Day. New York Times, 9 Apr. 1935. Web.