As jazz music found its way onto the public agenda between 1921 and 1929 the "New York Times" became a major forum for the controversy surrounding the new music form. Although jazz was played mostly by black musicians, this fact was seldom reflected in the newspaper's stories, and the specter of racism loomed just beneath the surface of the accounts. In the early 1920s most of the prominent citizens who spoke out against jazz were quoted at length, but opposing views and context were absent. By 1922, the "Times" reflected the reality that, despite vigorous opposition, jazz was becoming more popular. A sense of musical territoriality surfaced--musical "purists" objected to jazz's eclecticism and borrowing from classical and popular music. By the mid-1920s articles were longer and more balanced, and the important theme of music as an expression of national pride had emerged. Articles in the "Times" reflected the struggle to find music that captured the national spirit, and jazz was a candidate--especially the symphonic jazz of Paul Whiteman and George Gershwin. Jazz became increasingly popular overseas as well, and during the middle 1920s the paper reported from many foreign capitals on the origins of jazz, the restrictions on it imposed by foreign governments, and even the respect that it was gaining abroad. By 1929, after nearly a decade of reporting about jazz that was more negative than positive, the "Times" recognized the inescapable fact that jazz was an American musical product and the country's most valuable musical export. (Fifty-nine footnotes and 10 pages of newspaper sources are appended.) (NKA)