Editing John Reed (journalist) (section)

===Journalist===
[[File:John Reed journalist.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|A native of [[Oregon]], John Reed made New York City the base of his operations.]]

Reed had determined to become a journalist and set out to make his mark in New York. Reed made use of a valuable contact from Harvard, [[Lincoln Steffens]], who was establishing a reputation as a [[muckraker]]. Steffens quickly appreciated Reed's skills and intellect and landed his young admirer an entry-level position on ''[[The American Magazine]]'', where Reed read manuscripts, corrected proofs, and helped with the composition. Reed supplemented his salary by taking an additional job as the business manager of a new short-lived quarterly magazine, ''Landscape Architecture.''<ref>Hicks with Stuart, ''John Reed'', p. 65.</ref>

Reed made his home in [[Greenwich Village]], a burgeoning hub of poets, writers, activists, and artists. He came to love New York, relentlessly exploring it and writing poems about it. His formal jobs on the magazines paid the rent, but it was as a [[Freelancer|freelance journalist]] that Reed sought to establish himself. He collected rejection slips, circulating an essay and short stories about his six months in Europe, eventually breaking through in the ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]''. Within a year, Reed had other work accepted by ''[[Collier's Weekly|Collier's]]'', ''[[The Forum (defunct magazine)|The Forum]]'', and ''[[The Century Magazine]]''. One of his poems was set to music by composer [[Arthur Foote]], another by [[Marion Bauer]]. The editors at ''The American'' came to see him as a contributor and began to publish his work.<ref>Hicks with Stuart, ''John Reed'', p. 66.</ref>

Reed's serious interest in social problems was first aroused about this time by Steffens and [[Ida Tarbell]]. He moved beyond them to a more radical political position than theirs. In 1913, he joined the staff of ''[[The Masses]]'', edited by [[Max Eastman]]. Reed contributed more than 50 articles, reviews, and shorter pieces to this socialist publication.

The first of Reed's many arrests came in [[Paterson, New Jersey]], in 1913, for attempting to speak on behalf of [[Paterson Silk Strike of 1913|strikers in the New Jersey silk mills]]. The harsh treatment meted out by the authorities to the strikers and the short jail term he served further radicalized Reed. He allied with the general socialist union,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iww.org/history/library/iww/responsetoRILU/4|title=(4) I.W.W. Not a Syndicalist Organization {{!}} Industrial Workers of the World|website=www.iww.org|access-date=2019-05-18}}</ref> the [[Industrial Workers of the World]].<ref name="Homberger, John Reed, p. 49">Homberger, ''John Reed'', p. 49.</ref> His account of his experiences was published in June as an article, "War in Paterson". During the same year, following a suggestion made by IWW leader [[Bill Haywood]], Reed put on "The Pageant of the Paterson Strike" in [[Madison Square Garden]] as a benefit for the strikers.<ref name="Homberger, John Reed, p. 49"/>

In the autumn of 1913, Reed was sent to Mexico by the ''[[Metropolitan Magazine (New York)|Metropolitan Magazine]]'' to report on the [[Mexican Revolution]].<ref>Homberger, ''John Reed'', p. 55.</ref> He shared the perils of [[Pancho Villa]]'s army for four months and was with Villa's Constitutional (Constitutionalist) Army (whose "Primer Jefe" political chief was [[Venustiano Carranza]]) when it defeated Federal forces at [[Torreón]], opening the way for its advance on Mexico City.<ref>Homberger, ''John Reed'', p. 69.</ref> Reed adored Villa, but Carranza left him cold.

Reed's reporting on the [[Villistas]] in a series of outstanding magazine articles gained him a national reputation as a [[war correspondent]]. Reed deeply sympathized with the [[peon]]s and vehemently opposed [[United States occupation of Veracruz|American intervention]]. Reed's reports were collected and published as the book ''Insurgent Mexico'' (1914).

On April 30, 1914, Reed arrived in [[Colorado]], scene of the recent [[Ludlow massacre]], which was part of the [[Colorado Coalfield War]] between the [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]]-owned [[Colorado Fuel & Iron Company]] and [[United Mine Workers of America|United Mine Workers]] union supporters. There he spent a little more than a week, during which he investigated the events, spoke on behalf of the miners, and wrote an impassioned article on the subject ("The Colorado War", published in July). He came to believe much more deeply in class conflict.<ref>Homberger, ''John Reed'', pp. 75–76.</ref>

Reed spent summer 1914 in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]] with [[Mabel Dodge]] and her son, putting together ''Insurgent Mexico'' and interviewing [[United States President|President]] [[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson]] on the subject. The resulting report, much watered down at [[White House]] insistence, was not a success.<ref>Homberger, ''John Reed,'' p. 79.</ref>