Off the Record April 6, 1961

“Off The Record” by E C Dix 4-6-61
Publisher of the Daily Record is E.C. Dix, who with his father, the late Albert Dix, came to Wooster in 1898 when they purchased the stock of the Wooster Republican. Although the organization has a number of veteran employees, none of them have been associated with the Daily Record quite as long as the publisher. When he first came to Wooster, before his father and mother took up residence here, he obtained a room on E Liberty Street. That room is now a part of the second floor apartment on the building immediately east of the Daily Record office, the first floor of which was used during the last summer and fall as a temporary business office while the Daily Record offices were remodeled. The building is owned by Mr. Dix and the editorial offices are located on the rear of these premises. During the early years of the Dix management of the Wooster Republican, Albert Dix was business manager and E.C. Dix had charge of the editorial and news departments. The chief news writer was George Keitler. In later years, E.C. Dix became business manager, then publisher and guided by the skillful management of his father and himself, the newspaper expanded in size and in circulation. In 1919, the Mrs. Dix purchased the stock and business of the Wayne County Democrat and the Wooster Daily News, merging the two daily papers. Later, the weekly editions were discontinued and since then, all the energy of the management and working force has been devoted to publishing a constantly expanding daily newspaper, which circulates through Wayne Co. and adjoining counties at a total of more than 16,000 copies which are distributed each day. Mr. Dix has been recognized in newspaper circles generally as a leader in his field, the production of the small city daily newspaper. He has always been firmly convinced that a well equipped plant is essential to the successful publication of a paper and because of this, the Daily Record has equipment unexcelled in cities of the Wooster area. Important developments of Merganthaler Linotype Co. and the Intertype Co. in typesetting machines designed for specific uses, have been important in the Daily Record battery of linotypes, providing service to advertisers comparable to the best in the big city newspapers. The development of the at teletype system, which operation operates linotypes, automatically gives the Daily Record a capacity for news matter type production reached by few newspapers outside larger cities. During the Depression days, Mr. Dix looked ahead to better days and purchased a tubular press which seemed at the time too large for the Daily Record’s needs. Expansion of the size of the paper in recent years however, showed his foresight was correct and because of it, the press still meets today’s needs. Time saving devises of various kinds have been installed as their needs have been justified. Along with his activities as the publisher of the Daily Record, Mr. Dix found time along the way to serve 25 years as superintendent of the Methodist Sunday School, and put in many busy hours as a director and as president of the Wooster Chamber of Commerce, to serve as World War II Wayne County bond chairman and to devote his energies to numerous other community enterprises, including a directorship at the Wayne County National Bank, of which he is now vice president.

Four of his five sons have followed their father in newspaper work. Albert is publisher of the Martin’s Ferry Times, where his brother Gordon is associated with him in the capacity of co-publisher. Robert is publisher of the Ravenna Evening Record and Raymond E is general manager of the Daily Record. The youngest son, Dr. Harlan Dix, is taking post graduate work in internal medicine at Metropolitan Hospital in New York city. E.C. Dix is currently in Florida, from where he continues to keep in close touch with the fortunes of the Daily Record and the other Dix newspapers and to contribute occasional news features and editorials. During the summer months, he will be found regularly in the office of the Daily Record. He is chairman of the board of the Ohio Newspaper Association.