Belo: From Newspapers to New Media

Chapter 3. THE GRANDSONS RETURN FROM WAR (1946–1955)

Chapter 3 THEGRANDSONSRETURNFROMWAR 1946–1955 In his president’s report for the year 1946, whichTed Dealey delivered to the board of directors on February 12, 1947, he announced the return to the News of Ben Decherd, Al Dealey, Joe Dealey, and Jimmy Moroney,following their service inWorldWar II:“Upon this quartette of junior executives great responsibility will be placed within the near future.They are destined to become the future operators of the business after the older generation has retired or passed to its reward.”1 Everyone at the News andWFAA Radio knew these four first cousins and referred to them as “the boys.”All four of them had worked at the newspaper or radio station during the summers before graduating from high school, and two of them had begun full-time employment at the company before World War II. Following the war, all four of them returned from the armed services about the same time and were given one cramped office to share and one secretary for the four of them.Helen Roter had been G. B. Dealey’s secretary, and following his death in February 1946, she was reassigned to assist in the boys’ transition into their full-time careers at Belo.The newspaper and the corporation,which were essentially indistinguishable from each other at the time,were still in their original Dallas location on the northwest corner of Commerce and Lamar streets. Space was tight in the old building, after more than sixty years and countless expansions and remodeling projects, including the outright collapse of the first building.To accommodate the incoming junior exec- utives, four desks were moved into what had been Ted Dealey’s office before his recent move to his father’s vacated office. Plans already were underway to build a new headquarters a few blocks away,but meanwhile, the boys officed together in whatTed named the“JAB Room,”using the initials of the first names of Joe,Al, and Ben, who were the first to arrive. When Jimmy arrived soon thereafter, the spelling was revised to the “JJAB Room.” At first the two boys who had worked full-time before their military service simply resumed their former roles. Ben Decherd was already recognized for his organizational skills,and he resumed his work in company administration. Al Dealey resumed his work in accounting and finance. The other two, a few years younger, were regarded more as apprentices and were assigned tasks to complete throughout the operation , so that they could learn about various aspects of the business. Gradually , all four found niches where they were most inspired and began to establish themselves. The boys had been encouraged by their families to come into the company, and all of them seemed eager to accept the opportunities offered them.However,it is unlikely that the young men fully understood just how much was expected of them by their recently deceased grandfather .Three of them, who were interviewed in the 1980s, recalled their grandfather as a kindly, loving, even saintly figure, but someone who was fairly remote to their daily lives. However, G. B. Dealey’s unwavering vision for the future of his beloved company clearly anticipated important roles for his grandchildren.The nature and clarity of his vision for Belo’s future are integral to the careful way he structured the company in 1926 to begin with,and later to the terms of his LastWill andTestament,which he signed on December 17,1936,more than ten years before he died. Two of G. B.’s most trusted employees—LevenT. Deputy, mechanical superintendent, and Myer M. Donosky, assistant secretary, both of whom later became directors of Belo—witnessed his signing of his will that day. The will was written less than three years afterWalter’s death, and several years before G.B.promotedTed into the top management position of the company.The terms of the will followed the dictates of a contract signed by all eight holders of the company’s Class A common stock on July 29, 1926, two weeks after ownership of Belo had been transferred from the heirs of A. H. Belo to G. B. Dealey, John Lubben, and six others. In the minutes of the 1926 meeting at which the contract was signed, The Grandsons Return from War 69 the purpose of the contract was specified to be “for the stabilization of the control of the corporation.” At the same meeting...