Sen. Moss's "Attack" on Food Journalists

I recently received a copy of a speech that Sen. Frank Moss gave before a national meeting of newspaper food editors in 1971. The speech, called "Business, the Consumer and You," was in his papers at the University of Utah. He was concerned about the influence of advertisers on the content of the food sections.

I found the talk much milder than the way the press covered it - several reporters referred to it as an "attack" on food editors. His tone is polite and focuses more on overall consumer issues. The "food editors" are not addressed until page 25 of a 32-page speech. (He refers to the editors as "ladies" so there is no question who was dominating the profession at that point.)

The accusations led to the creation of the organization now known as the Association of Food Journalists.