Born in Cooperstown (North Dakota), United States, he studied journalism at the universities of Dakota and Columbia, while practiced law in several local newspapers. Later, he enrolled in psychology at Harvard (1943), working with Gordon Allport and Kurt Lewin , Daniel Katz . He served as professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, between 1946 and 1968, one of the creators of journalism studies. He later joined the University of Kentucky, where he was director of the School of Journalism (1969-1975) and concluded his academic life (1981). Director of Journalism Monographs , published by the Association for Education in Journalism (AEJ), academic entity of which he was president (1973-1974). He also served for ten editor year associate Journalism Quarterly .