Catch a Falling Star

In the last 96 years, the Washington Star has had but three editors--two by the name of Noyes, who happened to own a piece of the paper, and Benjamin McKelway, who sneaked in from the outside as a Noyes protege. Last week the Star got a new editor, and his name was no surprise: Newbold Noyes Jr., 44.

All in the Family. Ever since Crosby S. Noyes. George W. Adams and Samuel Kauffmann bought the paper in 1867, its executive offices have been crammed with their relatives. Of the Star's eleven directors, ten are descendants of the three men, and when they met to elect "Newby" Noyes editor, they also chose two Kauffmanns as vice presidents, a third as secretary, and a fellow named Crosby Boyd, whose mother was a Noyes, as president. Office wags crack that in another couple of generations, the Star will need no outside help at all. But the Star needs all the help it can get.

Once known as "the old lady of Washington" for its thorough but stodgy local coverage, the Star's title now reflects more scorn than affection. For years it was the biggest and richest paper in the capital, but it began slipping soon after the Post merged with the Times-Herald in 1954, now is a poor second, with 258,167 circulation to the Post's 408,701. A decade ago, the afternoon Star was sixth among U.S. dailies in advertising linage; at last count it had slipped to 12th.

"There'll be no abrupt change in our outlook," said Noyes at the spacious desk that cautious, pipe-smoking Ben McKelway used to occupy, but some major tinkering is already under way. Noyes is looking for skilled interpretive writers to back up Political Writer Mary McGrory and Pentagon Reporter Richard Fryklund (TIME, April 12). With only one foreign correspondent--Newbold Noyes's Paris-based brother Crosby--the Star cannot hope to match the 14 foreign correspondents who write for the Post, but the new editor plans to develop a team of "regional specialists." To match the Post's editorial-page lineup, Noyes is looking for fresh columnists. He has already bought the Manchester Guardian's Max Freedman away from the Post.

Lie a Little. Noyes. who came to the Star in 1941 via St. Paul's and Yale, was practically born into the job. His great-grandfather and great-uncle were Star editors, and Grandfather Frank Noyes was president from 1909 to 1948. After starting out rewriting handouts and covering the police beat, he became a Star war correspondent in Italy and Southern France during World War II. Back home, he began climbing the executive ladder. For the last six years he served as executive editor.

With the Post set solidly on top in Washington, Noyes might do well to keep in mind the ditty that a Star promotion manager once wrote, to the tune of Live a Little:

You've got to lie a little, boast a little,

You've got to make like the Post a little . . .

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