Minnesota Rag: Corruption, Yellow Journalism, and the Case That Saved Freedom of the Press

Minnesota Rag takes the reader on an exhilarating tour of the seamy underside of a dark period in Minnesota’s past, one rife with crooked public officials, vengeful gangsters, and yellow journalists. Featuring notorious characters such as Jay M. Near, racist and antilabor publisher of Minneapolis’s Saturday Press, pioneering newsman Fred W. Friendly weaves the tale of a court case that molded our understanding of freedom of the press and set a precedent for the publication of the Pentagon Papers.

Fred W. Friendly (1915-1998) spent virtually his entire life in journalism. With his partner Edward R. Murrow, he was responsible for many of television’s most distinguished moments, including See It Now and CBS Reports. After serving as president of CBS News, he was named professor of journalism at Columbia University.