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Masculine Guidance: Boys, Men, and Newspapers, 1930–1939

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2015

Todd Alexander Postol
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Abstract

The familiar neighborhood paper boy was a product of the Depression, born of the need to boost revenues and improve readership. Operating funds for newspapers swiftly declined in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash. Circulation managers responded with one of the few resources at their command—inexpensive juvenile labor. Drawing on connections linking men and boys in the marketplace, circulation heads fashioned a gendered managerial philosophy that was distinctive to their industry. This approach, here termed masculine guidance, revitalized daily news delivery and transformed the relationship between middle-class childhood and paid work in the United States.

Type
Articles
Information
Enterprise & Society , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 2000 , pp. 355 - 390
Copyright
Copyright © Enterprise and Society 2000

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