[1] He was a staunch advocate of community journalism, fond of statements like, "A fistfight on Clark Street is more important to our readers than a war in Europe.
After graduation he worked for several local Chicago papers until the late 1940s, and was the only neighborhood newspaperman accredited by the State Department to cover the United Nations Conference at San Francisco in 1945.
He was a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Public Library and of Americans for Democratic Action, founder of the Independent Voters of Illinois (IVI), and president of the Citizens Schools Committee.
He helped found Roosevelt University, where he taught journalism and eventually became president of its board of trustees.
In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson invited him to join the Citizens Advisory Board of the Community Relations Service.