Petit Parisien

The newspaper with the largest circulation in the world (2,000,000), with 15 editions a day, with 18,000 out-of-town distributing agents, with a reputation built on conservatism rather than sensationalism, is in the hands of a woman. U. S. born and bred Mme. Paul Dupuy (nee Helen Browne of Manhattan) took charge of the Petit Parisien last year when her husband died. Last week, recovering from an operation, she sat in bed, talked into a telephone, directed her editors to put such-and-such on the front page, to ignore so-and-so. U. S. correspondents called at her Paris apartment and she told them: "I am training my two sons to take over the property when I am too old. My policy as a newspaper publisher is based on the iron rules my husband followed: accurate and brightly presented news and pictures, a well printed paper and good and truthful advertising." The advertising may be truthful; it is certainly scarce as it is in all French papers, advertisingly backward.

Mme. Dupuy also owns Excelsior (daily), Dimanche Illustre (weekly), several magazines.