In an effort to document the historical evolution of journalists' political involvement and determine when it began to affect journalistic behavior, a case study examined the personal and professional lives of journalists in Minnesota practicing in the 1920s and 1930s. The study investigated whether these journalists (1) were elected to public offices, (2) chose to leave their journalism positions during their terms of office, and (3) if so, whether they did so out of any expressed recognition of the possible conflict of interest involved. Findings revealed that many Minnesota journalists sought and held elective public office on all government levels, and that few left their journalism positions during their term of office. In addition, findings showed that the rate of office holding by the journalist/politicians increased during the period studied. Little evidence exists to indicate that the few journalists who gave up their positions did so because of concern about conflict of interest. In fact, findings suggest some journalists were comfortable serving dual roles in their communities. Examination of the Minnesota Editorial Association's proceedings show no sessions on the topic of professional ethics. This lack of address suggests that the conflict of interest issue may never have occurred to many journalist/politicians. Nine pages of notes conclude the document. (JD)