Introduction and Lawrence Gobright

New York Herald- April 15 1865

“This evening at about 9:30 P.M., at Ford’s Theatre, the President, while sitting in his private box with Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Harris and Major Rathburn, was shot by an assassin, who suddenly entered the box and approached behind the President.” – Secretary of War Edward M. Stanton, New York Herald, April 15, 1865. (3)

This lead has it all. Who, what, where, when, the only thing left out was “why?” And this was the question on the minds of everyone in the north the following day.

Any journalist today would commend this lead as an effective one, it sets the stage, it tells the readers why they are here, reading this now. The only odd thing about it is that this had rarely been done before. Even more odd was the fact that it wasn’t even a journalist who brought it about, but the country’s Secretary of War at the time. (5)

The inverted pyramid style, as it would one day be called, is the gold standard today. It’s an efficient way to begin telling a news story. We’ll expand on Stanton’s contributions later on, but now we’ll look at the first man to send telegraphs about the Lincoln assassination, Lawrence A. Gobright.

Lawrence Gobright, AP Corespondent

Lawrence Gobright was the Washington D.C. correspondent for the Associated Press for 30 years and had begun reporting in Washington in 1849. During this time he covered the Civil War and a particularly focused view on President Lincoln. (2)

Gobright was reported to be a cautious man, un-objective in his reporting and was trusted. At a time when many newspapers were sensational Gobright’s reporting looked to tell the news as it was. (3) This however did not mean he was without fault. During the Battle of Bull Run, Gobright prematurely filed a telegraph detailing a Union victory, when in fact the Rebel’s would later route the Northerners. Gobright later corrected the mistake, but not before the North had begun celebrating the first victory of the war. (2)