When Newspapers Were Newspapers

…Funny you should mention the Rome Daily American… as you carry the same name as Roman Cusack, who was the (Rock)Music reporter for the Rome-based newspaper in the mid-70s… I lived in Rome as a teenager thru my early 20s when I met Roman due to my interest in Rock music. I wonder what happened to Roman… BTW, there was also a Rome Daily American radio station, then.
Cheers
Pat

I was there when David Mazzarella was editor. I might have been the only Limey journo in that editorial. The late night shift ending around 11-ish was my favourite as I could hit all the nightclubs immediately after work. Fun times and happy days!

My mom, Lynn Laurenti, also worked at the Daily A when Dave Mazzarella was the editor. She was there in the early 70’s for several years. She loved working there. She recently passed and I’d be happy to hear from anyone who worked with her.

Rome Daily American 1961-62 when it was on Via Dandolo in Trastevere. Ed Hill was editor. Les Childe was Brit who edited Sunday paper. Among fellow alumni was Frank Peters, who won Pulitzer for criticism at St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I spent much of my time as night editor, putting the final edition to bed on our flatbed press. Wonderful time.

I lived in Rome while attending American University of Rome (’84-’85). Best city in the world! I am searching for archived copies of The Daily American from ’59-’60, searching for an ad my father answered, while living there. The ad was for a voice actor for a film being dubbed in English. The film might never have been released, but this ad is the only clue I have in my search. I want to surprise dad for his 89th birthday with either the ad he answered or any info about the film if it even exists. Any help would be appreciated!

As a young student I would buy Rome Daily American at the end of classes, on my way home. It was the only newspaper available in the southern Italy small town where I attended high school. I was self studying English at the time and I would spend the evening painstakingly reading the paper and listening to the BBC (including the English by Radio lessons). Many years later I came across the man who was the last editor-in-chief of Rome Daily American before the paper collapsed in 1984: Christopher Winner. In the meantime he had founded another American paper (printed until 2004, now online) in Rome, The American Mag – In Italia, intended to be the heir of the D.A. He invited me to write for this new publication and started a new column for me, Apulian Days. You can easily understand that I am particularly proud of writing for the successor of the glorious paper I used to read as a boy.

Worked there in about 1978-79 as a proof-reader, sitting next to the 70yo-ish, Claire. She told me she had come to Rome from NYC in her early 20s and had become marooned in Roma due to her terror of both flying and boating. She had an Eastern European boyfriend who had a circle of old Bohemian pals who would sit, smoke interminably and drink and talk, talk, talk. This occurred in her apartment (which looked like a set from “The Importance of Being Earnest”- very old-world,)and in a smoky, backroom of a social club to which he belonged. I lived on Via Principe Amadeo, near the train station. La Roma….