Last Updated on May 8, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 104

In a career spanning nearly eighty years, George Seldes earned a reputation as one of the most original and independent reporters in the history of American journalism. It started in 1909, when he was hired as a cub reporter for the Pittsburgh Leader. He would soon have his first experience with censorship, when he reported on a son of the owner of a large department store, and advertiser, who thought he had the right to seduce every pretty female clerk. The story was censored and was not published; shortly thereafter, the store doubled its advertising in the paper. It was an experience Seldes never forgot.