Nationality American Died 30 August 1988 | Occupation Journalist, author | |
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Born July 30, 1906 ( 1906-07-30 ) Columbia, Missouri Books The People of Mushan: Life in a Taiwanese Village | ||
Howard Rusk Long (July 30, 1906 – August 30, 1988) was an American journalist and author. He was the manager of the Missouri Press Association, and later became the director of the School of Journalism at the Southern Illinois University.
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Early life
Howard Rusk Long was born in 1906 in Columbia, Missouri. His parents were C. M. Long and Carrie B. Long. He was one of their three children. Long's father was a well-known farmer in Rochester, Indiana. In 1925, the Long family moved to Lafayette, Indiana. Long graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism in 1930 from the University of Missouri. He married Margaret Carney in 1931. He graduated with his master's in 1941. Long later earned a doctorate from the University of Missouri in rural sociology.
Career
After graduating with his bachelor's degree, Long worked with newspapers in West Virginia and Arkansas. Long worked as the manager of the Nicholas Republican in Richwood, West Virginia. He also worked as a manager for Milkmen's Service Inc. in Lafayette. In 1934, Long went to Fort Smith, Arkansas to work for the Southwest Times Record. That same year, his father-in-law, George D. Carney, bought the Crane Chronicle in Missouri. Long was the manager of the Chronicle for six years, until he sold it in 1940. In 1937, he was the president of Ozark Press Association.
Long then joined the faculty at the University of Missouri in 1940 and also began working at the Missouri Press Association. He was the manager of the Missouri Press Association for nine years, until 1949. He taught journalism until 1950 at the University of Missouri when he left to work on his 1200-acre farm in Rochester, Indiana. During his time, however, Long was given an assignment from the British Ministry of Information. He was one of the first Americans invited to London after V.E. Day.
Long ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Joint State Representative for Fulton and Pulaski counties in 1952. He was appointed director of the School of Journalism at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale from 1953 to 1972. He designed a building that was finished in 1971 for the School of Journalism. Long chose to step-down as director of the SIU School of Journalism in 1972, but continued working at the university for two more years.
During his time teaching at SIU, a former student, J. T. Shieh, arranged for Long to travel to Taipei through a Smith-Mundt Grant that was given to him in 1956. He taught at the National Chengchi University in Taipei. Long also conducted a study of the Mushan people there. His observations later resulted in his book The people of Mushan: life in a Taiwanese village. Long remained in the country from 1956 to 1957. He also helped to edit local English newspapers. While there, he interviewed Chiang Kai-shek and other Nationalist leaders. Upon leaving Taipei, Long traveled to various locations around the world including Hong Kong, Thailand, India, and Paris.
During his life, Long also organized conferences for the International Society of Newspaper Editors. He was the editor for their publication, Grassrootsfrom 1960 to 1972. Long was a co-founder of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) in 1955. There is a scholarship offered by the society in his name. The ISWNE was founded in Carbondale and began with 13 editors as members. In 1964, he became a member of the Board of Advisory Editors of the Trans-Action magazine. He also worked for the Associated Press. He was a consultant to the U.S. Information Agency.
Long was also a member of Kiwanis and the Masonic lodge, and a member of the Protestant Church. Long died in 1988.