|
He was educated in public schools, served briefly in the U.S. Navy, and in 1843 became a clerk in a Philadelphia bookshop. He later organized the publishing house of Childs & Peterson, and in 1864 with his partner Anthony J. Drexel purchased the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Childs radically changed the orientation of The Ledger, insisting on a high level of journalistic accuracy, morality and refused to print sensationalism or scandal. The Ledger became one of the most influential newspapers in the country |