Paper Tigers: The Latest, Greatest Newspaper Tycoons and How They Won the World

Readers should note the word ``Tycoons'' in the subtitle, for Coleridge's book deals primarily with the owners of many of the world's most influential newspapers, rather than with the newspapers themselves. The author has done an immense amount or research on his subjects, interviewing nearly all the proprietors appearing in the book as well as talking to scores of employees, competitors and analysts, and he uses this research to present a sort of ``Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Newspaper Tycoons.'' Analyses of the caliber of the papers' journalism and of their operations is generally limited to the owners' impact on their individual papers. Coleridge ( The Fashion Conspiracy ) maintains that most owners play a major role in setting the tone and agenda for their publications, and one of the more disturbing points in the book is that while many owners, such as the Sulzberger family of the New York Times and the Washington Post 's Grahams, try to use their papers as vehicles for the public good, a significant number, like Dean Singleton and Ralph Ingersoll, owners of newspaper chains, are more interested in profit margins. Readers looking for a serious critique of the operations of such papers as the Los Angeles Times , the Boston Herald or London's Daily Mirror will likely be disappointed, but those eager to find out what makes newspaper magnates tick will have a field day. Photos. (Apr . )