Charles G. (Charles Griffith) Ross

Born in Independence, Missouri, in 1885, Charles Griffith Ross built his career in journalism before entering national public life. Reliable sources identify him as a longtime reporter and editor with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and his writing on news craft shows the same direct, workmanlike style associated with the best newspaper training of his era.

Ross is best remembered today for The Writing of News, a handbook that explains how reporters gather facts, shape a lead, and write with clarity. The book has endured because it is grounded in lived newsroom practice rather than theory, making it useful both as a period piece and as a snapshot of enduring reporting habits.

Later in life, he served as White House Press Secretary for President Harry S. Truman from 1945 until his death in 1950. That public role gave him a larger place in American history, but for readers, his lasting appeal comes from the calm, practical way he wrote about the craft of journalism.