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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also Wikipedia biography controversy. For the NBC News anchorman, see John Seigenthaler (anchorman).

John Seigenthaler
John Seigenthaler, speaking inNashville
Born	John Lawrence Seigenthaler July 27, 1927 (age 82) Nashville, Tennessee,U.S.
Occupation	Journalist, writer
Spouse(s)	Dolores Watson (m. 1955)

John Lawrence Seigenthaler (pronounced /ˈsiːɡɛnˌθɔːlər/; born July 27, 1927) is an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He founded the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

Seigenthaler joined The Tennessean in 1949, resigning in 1960 to act as Robert F. Kennedy's administrative assistant. He rejoined The Tennessean as editor in 1962, publisher in 1973, and chairman in 1982 before retiring as chairman emeritus in 1991. Seigenthaler was also founding editorial director of USA Today from 1982 to 1991. During this period, he served on the board of directors for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and from 1988 to 1989 was its president.

Life

Early life

While working at The Tennessean, Seigenthaler took courses in sociology and literature at Peabody College, now part of Vanderbilt University. He also attended the American Press Institute for Reporters at Columbia University.^[1]

Career

Journalism

Seigenthaler began working as a staff reporter at The Tennessean in 1949.

Seigenthaler began his career in journalism as a police beat reporter in The Tennessean city room^[2] after his uncle encouraged an editor about his talent.^[1] Those skills weren't immediately evident, (he was lectured by an editor about his first article), but he was able to establish himself on the staff among heavy competition that included future standout journalists David Halberstam and Tom Wicker.

He first gained prominence in November 1953 when he tracked down the former Thomas C. Buntin and his wife. The bizarre case involved the son of a wealthy Nashville business owner who had disappeared in September 1931, followed six weeks later by the disappearance of his secretary. Seigenthaler was sent to Texas by The Tennessean after reports surfaced that Buntin (now known as Thomas D. Palmer) was living somewhere in the Lone Star state. After a series of dead-ends, Seigenthaler struck pay dirt in Orange, Texas, where he saw an elderly man step off a bus. Noting the man's distinctive left ear, Seigenthaler followed him home. After three further days of investigation, he went back to the home, where he confirmed the identities of Buntin/Palmer, his wife, the former Betty McCuddy, and their six children.^[3] Seigenthaler won a National Headliner Award for the story.^[2]

Less than a year later, on October 5, 1954, Seigenthaler once again made national news for his efforts in saving a suicidal man from jumping off the Shelby Street Bridge in Nashville. Gene Bradford Williams had called The Tennessean saying he would jump and for the newspaper to "send a reporter and photographer if you want a story." After talking to Williams at the bridge for 40 minutes, Seigenthaler watched the man begin to attempt his 100-foot plunge off the bridge railing. Grabbing hold of his collar, Seigenthaler and police saved the man from falling into the Cumberland River. Williams muttered "I'll never forgive you" to Seigenthaler.^[4]

In July 1957, Seigenthaler began a battle to eliminate corruption within the local branch of the Teamsters, noting the criminal backgrounds of key employees, along with the uses of intimidation in keeping news of certain union activities quiet. During this period, he contacted Dave Beck and Jimmy Hoffa, both top Teamsters officials, but the two men ignored Seigenthaler's queries. His series of articles resulted in the impeachment trial of Chattanooga Criminal Court Judge Ralston Schoolfield.^[5]

Seigenthaler took a one-year sabbatical from The Tennessean in 1958 to participate in Harvard University's prestigious Nieman Fellowship program.^[1] Upon returning to The Tennessean, Seigenthaler became an assistant city editor and special assignment reporter.^[2]

Politics

Frustrated by the leadership of Tennessean publisher Silliman Evans, Jr., Seigenthaler resigned in 1960 to serve as an administrative assistant to incoming Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. On April 21, 1961, Seigenthaler was the only other Justice Department figure to witness a meeting between Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.

During the Freedom Rides of 1961, Seigenthaler was sent to be chief negotiator for the government, in its attempts to work with Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson. After several days of refusing to return calls, Patterson finally agreed to protect the Riders, but their state trooper escort disappeared as soon as they arrived in Montgomery on May 20, 1961, leaving them unprotected before the waiting white mob.^[6]

Seigenthaler was a block away when he rushed to help Susan Wilbur,^[7] a Freedom Rider who was being chased by the angry mob. Seigenthaler shoved her into his car and shouted "Get back! I'm with the Federal government"^[8] but was hit behind the left ear with a pipe. Knocked unconscious, he was not picked up until police arrived 10 minutes later, with Montgomery Police Commissioner Lester B. Sullivan noting, "We have no intention of standing police guard for a bunch of troublemakers coming into our city."^[9]^[10]

Seigenthaler's brief career in government would conclude as a result of Evans' death from a heart attack on July 29, 1961. A brief transition period followed, during which long-time Tennessean reporter John Nye served as publisher. On March 20, 1962, the newspaper made the announcement that Evans' brother, Amon Carter Evans, would be the new publisher.

One of the new Evans' first acts would be to bring back Seigenthaler as editor. The two had worked together before at the paper, when Seigenthaler served as assistant city editor and Evans was an aspiring journalist. On one occasion during that era, the two nearly came to blows over Seigenthaler's assignment of Evans to a story.

Evans named Seigenthaler editor of The Tennessean on March 21, 1962.^[11] With this new team in place, The Tennessean quickly regained its hard-hitting reputation. One example of the paper's resurgence came following a Democratic primary in August 1962, when The Tennessean found documented evidence of voter fraud based on absentee ballots in the city's second ward.^[5]

Seigenthaler's friendship with Kennedy became one of the focal points of Jimmy Hoffa's bid to shift his jury tampering trial from Nashville. Citing "one-sided, defamatory" coverage from the newspaper, Hoffa's lawyers were able to get Seigenthaler to admit he personally wanted Hoffa convicted. However, the journalist noted that he hadn't conveyed those sentiments to his reporters. Hoffa's lawyers gained a minor victory when the trial was moved to Chattanooga in a change of venue, but Hoffa was nonetheless convicted in 1964 after a 45-day trial.

The following year, Seigenthaler led a fight for access to the Tennessee state senate chamber in Nashville after a resolution was passed revoking the floor privileges of Tennessean reporter Bill Kovach. The action came after Kovach had refused to leave a committee hearing following a call for executive session.

In December 1966, Seigenthaler and Richard Goodwin represented the Kennedy family when controversy developed about historian William Manchester's book about the John F. Kennedy assassination, The Death of a President. Seigenthaler had read an early version of the book, which led to Jacqueline Kennedy threatening a lawsuit over inaccurate and private statements in the publication.

Seigenthaler then took a temporary leave from his duties at the newspaper to work on Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. During this period, the journalist was described by the New York Times as, "one of a handful of advisers in whom [Kennedy] has absolute confidence."^[12] Moments after a victory in the California primary, Kennedy was shot by an assassin and died on June 6, 1968. Seigenthaler would serve as one of the pallbearers at his funeral, and later co-edited the book An Honorable Profession: A Tribute to Robert F. Kennedy.

Remaining focused on the cause of civil rights, Seigenthaler then supported Tennessee Bishop Joseph Aloysius Durick in 1969 during the latter's contentious fight to end segregation, a stance that outraged many in the community who still believed in the concept.

In publishing

On February 8, 1973, Seigenthaler was promoted to publisher of the Tennessean, after Amon Carter Evans was named president of Tennessean Newspaper, Inc.

As the publisher, Seigenthaler worked with Al Gore, then a reporter, on investigative stories about Nashville city council corruption in the early 1970s.^[13] In February 1976, Seigenthaler contacted Gore at home to inform him that U.S. Representative Joe L. Evins was not running for re-election. Gore decided to resign from the paper and drop out of Vanderbilt University Law School, beginning his political career by entering the race for Tennessee's 4th congressional district, a seat previously held byAlbert Gore, Sr., his father.

On May 5, 1976, Seigenthaler dismissed Jacque Srouji, a copy editor at The Tennessean, after finding that she had served as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for much of the previous decade. The controversy came to light after Srouji testified before the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which was investigating nuclear safety. Srouji, who was writing a book critical of Karen Silkwood, had perused more than 1000 pages of FBI documents pertaining to the nuclear power critic. In followup testimony, FBI agent Lawrence J. Olson, Sr. acknowledged that the bureau had a "special relationship" with Srouji. Tennessean reporters had been suspicious of Srouji's reporting coups, coming just months after she had joined the paper. These included such things as a late-night FBI raid on illegal gambling establishments, as well as one on a local business suspected of fraud.^[14]

Afterwards the FBI appears to have collected rumors about Seigenthaler. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Homer Boynton told an editor of the New York Times to "look into Seigenthaler," whom he called "not entirely pure." After hearing this, Seigenthaler tried for a year to get his own FBI dossier, and finally received some highly expurgated material including these words: "Allegations of Seigenthaler having illicit relations with young girls, which information source obtained from an unnamed source." He had previously promised to publish whatever the FBI gave him, and did so. He flatly stated that the charges were false. The attorney general issued an apology, the allegations were removed from Seigenthaler's file, and he received the 1976 Sidney Hillman Prize for "courage in publishing".^[15]^[16]

In May 1982, Seigenthaler was named the first editorial director of USA Today. In announcing the appointment, Gannett president Allen Neuharth said Seigenthaler was "one of the most thoughtful and respected editors in America."^[17] During Seigenthaler's tenure at USA Today, he frequently commuted between Nashville and Washington to fulfill his duties at both newspapers.^[18]

The publication of author Peter Maas' 1983 book, Marie: A True Story, again put Seigenthaler under scrutiny over the investigation of a pardon scandal involving former Tennessee governor Ray Blanton. Marie Ragghianti was the head of the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles before being fired after refusing to release prisoners who had bribed Blanton's aides. Since the Tennessean had supported Blanton, the newspaper's initial reluctance in investigating the charges was called into question. However, editors and reporters had believed that Ragghianti's alleged broken affair with Blanton's chief counsel, T. Edward Sisk, was the motivation for her claims.^[19]

Later life

In 1986, Middle Tennessee State University established the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, honoring Seigenthaler's "lifelong commitment to free expression values".^[20]

However, three years later, Seigenthaler again became embroiled in controversy with the FBI when he was tipped off by Circuit Court Judge Gilbert S. Merritt that Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff Lafayette "Fate" Thomas, his friend since childhood, was the target of a FBI government corruption sting. Although Seigenthaler was never charged with any crime, Thomas later pled guilty to mail fraud, theft of government property, and tax conspiracy and was sentenced to five years in prison. Despite the conviction, the FBI claimed that Thomas' knowledge of the plan ruined countless hours of investigative work.^[21]

Seigenthaler announced his retirement in December 1991 from The Tennessean, just months after he made a similar announcement concerning his tenure at USA Today.

On December 15, 1991, Seigenthaler founded the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University,^[22] saying, "It is my hope that this center at Vanderbilt University... will help promote appreciation and understanding for those values so vital in a democratic society." The center serves as a forum for dialog about First Amendment issues, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.

In 1996, Seigenthaler received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College.

In 2001, Seigenthaler was appointed to the National Commission on Federal Election Reform that followed the 2000 presidential election. He is also a member of the Constitution Project on Liberty and Security.

In 2002, when it was discovered that USA Today reporter Jack Kelley had fabricated some of his stories, USA Today turned to Seigenthaler, along with veteran editors Bill Hilliard and Bill Kovach, to monitor the investigation.^[23]

In 2002, Vanderbilt renamed the 57,000-square-foot (5,300 m²) building that houses the Freedom Forum, First Amendment Center, and Diversity Institute the John Seigenthaler Center. At one point, USA Today and Freedom Forum founder Allen Neuharth called Seigenthaler "the best champion of the First Amendment."^[24]

Seigenthaler currently hosts a book review program on Nashville public television station WNPT, called A Word on Words, and chairs the selection committees for the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation's Profiles in Courage Award and the RFK Memorial's Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

Wikipedia controversy

Main article: Wikipedia biography controversy

In May 2005, an anonymous user created a five-sentence Wikipedia article about Seigenthaler which contained false and defamatory content.^[25] Seigenthaler contacted Wikipedia in September, and the content was deleted. He later wrote an op-ed on the experience for USA Today, in which he wrote "And so we live in a universe of new media with phenomenal opportunities for worldwide communications and research — but populated by volunteer vandals with poison-pen intellects. Congress has enabled them and protects them"^[26] — a reference to the protection from liability that Internet Service Providers are given under Federal law versus editorially controlled media like newspapers and television.

After the incident, Wikipedia took steps to prevent a recurrence, including barring unregistered users from creating new pages.^[27]

Personal life

While covering a story in the mid-1950s, Seigenthaler met singer Dolores Watson. Giving up dreams of a musical career, Watson married Seigenthaler in 1955, and later gave birth to the couple's only child, John Michael Seigenthaler, who went on to become an anchor with NBC News. The elder Seigenthaler's brother, Thomas Seigenthaler, was the founder of Seigenthaler Public Relations.

Publications

Seigenthaler, John (2004). James K. Polk: 1845-1849: The American Presidents Series. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-6942-9.
Seigenthaler, John (1974). The Year of the Scandal Called Watergate. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-914636-01-4.
Seigenthaler, John (1971). A Search for Justice. Aurora Publishers. ISBN 0-87695-003-9.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Seigenthaler Named Nieman Fellow". The Tennessean. June 5, 1958.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ritter, Frank (December 6, 1991). "A Model and Mentor: Seigenthaler Leaves Mark at Newspapers Nationwide". The Tennessean.
^ "Visitors in Limbo". Time Magazine. December 7, 1953.
^ "Reporter Balks Man's Suicide From Bridge". Los Angeles Times. October 6, 1954. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b "The Fighting Tennessean". Time Magazine. September 14, 1962.
^ Gitlin, Todd (1987). The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-05233-0.
^ "Aide Hurt in Riots Returns to Capital". United Press International. May 22, 1961.
^ "American Experience: RFK" transcript accessed November 27, 2006
^ "President's Representative Hurt Helping a Girl Escape Violence". Associated Press. May 21, 1961.
^ Branch, Taylor (1988). Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 428–452. ISBN 0-671-68742-5.
^ "Seigenthaler Editor Of Tennessean". Nashville Banner. March 22, 1962.
^ Turner, Wallace (May 10, 1968). "New Aides Try to Reverse Decline in Kennedy California Drive". The New York Times.
^ Wood, E. Thomas (January/February 1993). "Al Gore's Other Big Week". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
^ "A Special Relationship". Time Magazine. May 24, 1976.
^ Lewis, Anthony (August 25, 1977). "Not Entirely Pure". New York Times.
^ "Letter, The Silkwood Case". The New York Review of Books. April 29, 1982.
^ Fontenay, Charles (May 14, 1982). "Publisher Heads Editorial Voice For USA TODAY". The Tennessean.
^ "7 Staffers Taking Up Duties at 'USA Today'". The Tennessean. September 7, 1982.
^ Friendly, Jonathan (July 22, 1983). "Debate on Reporting of Nashville Scandal Reopens". The New York Times.
^ "Middle Tennessee State University Chairs of Excellence". Retrieved January 11, 2006.
^ Brosnan, James (June 4, 1993). "Tenn. Judge in High-Court Pool Hampered Sting". The Commercial Appeal. pp. A4.
^ "John Seigenthaler Biography at First Amendment Center". Retrieved May 18, 2006.
^ Associated Press, "'USA Today' Probe Finds Kelley Faked Stories", Editor & Publisher, 19 March 2004
^ "Public dangerously unsupportive of free press, Seigenthaler warns". Retrieved May 18, 2006.
^ Susan, Page (December 11, 2005). "Author apologizes for fake Wikipedia biography". USA Today.
^ Seigenthaler, John (November 29, 2005). "A false Wikipedia 'biography'". USA Today.
^ Helm, Burt (December 14, 2005). "Wikipedia: A work in progress". BusinessWeek.

External links

John Seigenthaler, Sr.

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Writers and critics

John Lawrence Seigenthaler ( IPA pronunciation: [ˈsigɛnˌθɔlɚ]; born July 27, 1927) is an American journalist, writer, and political figure.

Seigenthaler joined The Tennessean in 1949 and became editor in 1962, publisher in 1973, and chairman in 1982 before retiring as chairman emeritus in 1991. Seigenthaler was also founding editorial director of USA Today from 1982 to 1991. During this period he served on the board of directors for the American Society of Newspaper Editors and from 1988 to 1989 was its president.

While covering a story in the mid-1950s, Seigenthaler met singer Dolores Watson. Giving up dreams of a musical career, Watson married Seigenthaler in 1955, and later gave birth to the couple's only child, John Seigenthaler, Jr., currently an anchor with NBC News. The elder Seigenthaler's brother, Thomas Seigenthaler, was the founder of Seigenthaler Public Relations.

Early years

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Seigenthaler is the oldest of eight siblings. He attended Father Ryan High School and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1946 to 1949. After leaving the service, Seigenthaler was hired at The Tennessean as a reporter after his uncle encouraged an editor about his talent. Those skills weren't immediately evident after he was lectured by an editor about his first article, but he was able to establish himself on the staff among heavy competition that included future standout journalists David Halberstam and Tom Wicker.

Beginnings as a reporter

Seigenthaler began his career in journalism as a police beat reporter in The Tennessean city room. He first gained prominence in November 1953 when he tracked down the former Thomas C. Buntin and his wife. The bizarre case involved the son of a wealthy Nashville business owner who had disappeared in September 1931, followed six weeks later by the disappearance of his secretary. Seigenthaler was sent to Texas by The Tennessean after reports surfaced that Buntin (now known as Thomas D. Palmer) was living somewhere in the Lone Star state. After a series of dead-ends, Seigenthaler struck pay dirt in Orange, Texas, where he saw an elderly man step off a bus. Noting the man's distinctive left ear, Seigenthaler followed him home. After three further days of investigation, he went back to the home, where he confirmed the identities of Buntin/Palmer, his wife, the former Betty McCuddy, and their six children. Seigenthaler won a National Headliner Award for the story.

In July 1957, Seigenthaler began a battle to eliminate corruption within the local branch of the Teamsters, noting the criminal backgrounds of key employees, along with the uses of intimidation in keeping news of certain union activities quiet. During this period, he contacted Dave Beck and Jimmy Hoffa, both top Teamsters officials, but the two men ignored Seigenthaler's queries. His series of articles resulted in the impeachment of Chattanooga Criminal Court Judge Ralston Schoolfield.

Seigenthaler took a one-year sabbatical from The Tennessean in 1958 to participate in Harvard University's prestigious Nieman Fellowship program. Upon returning to The Tennessean, Seigenthaler became an assistant city editor and special assignment reporter.

Association with Robert F. Kennedy

Seigenthaler was a block away when he rushed to help Susan Wilbur, a Freedom Rider who was being chased by the angry mob. Seigenthaler shoved her into his car before being hit behind the left ear with a pipe. Knocked unconscious, he was not picked up until police arrived 10 minutes later, with Montgomery Police Commissioner Lester B. Sullivan noting, "We have no intention of standing police guard for a bunch of troublemakers coming into our city."

One of the new Evans' first duties would be to bring back Seigenthaler as editor. The two had worked together before at the paper, when Seigenthaler served as assistant city editor and Evans was an aspiring journalist. On one occasion during that era, the two nearly came to blows over Seigenthaler's assignment of Evans to a story.

Evans named Seigenthaler editor of The Tennessean on March 21, 1962. With this new team in place, The Tennessean quickly regained its hard-hitting reputation. One example of the paper's resurgence came following a Democratic primary in August 1962, when The Tennessean found documented evidence of voter fraud based on absentee ballots in the city's second ward.

In December 1966, Seigenthaler and Richard Goodwin represented the Kennedy family when controversy developed about historian William Manchester's book about the John F. Kennedy assassination, Death of a President. Seigenthaler had read an early version of the book, which led to Jacqueline Kennedy threatening a lawsuit over inaccurate and private statements in the publication.

Seigenthaler then took a temporary leave from his duties at the newspaper to work on Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. During this period, the journalist was described by the New York Times as, "one of a handful of advisers in whom [Kennedy] has absolute confidence." Moments after a victory in the California primary, Kennedy was shot by an assassin and died on June 6, 1968. Seigenthaler would serve as one of the pallbearers at his funeral, and later co-edited the book An Honorable Profession: A Tribute to Robert F. Kennedy.

Time as publisher

On February 8, 1973, Seigenthaler was promoted to publisher of the Tennessean, after Amon Carter Evans was named president of Tennessean Newspaper, Inc.

As the publisher, Seigenthaler worked with Al Gore, then a reporter, on investigative stories about Nashville city council corruption in the early 1970s. In February 1976, Seigenthaler contacted Gore at home to inform him that U.S. Representative Joe L. Evins was not running for re-election. Gore decided to resign from the paper and drop out of Vanderbilt University Law School, beginning his political career by entering the race for Tennessee's 4th congressional district, a seat previously held by Albert Gore, Sr., his father.

In May 1982, Seigenthaler was named the first editorial director of USA Today. In announcing the appointment, Gannett president Allen Neuharth said Seigenthaler was "one of the most thoughtful and respected editors in America." During Seigenthaler's tenure at USA Today, he frequently commuted between Nashville and Washington to fulfill his duties at both newspapers.

Later life

Seigenthaler continues to make frequent public speaking engagements.

In 1986, Middle Tennessee State University established the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, honoring Seigenthaler's "lifelong commitment to free expression values".

Seigenthaler announced his retirement in December 1991 from The Tennessean, just months after he made a similar announcement concerning his tenure at USA Today.

On December 15, 1991, Seigenthaler founded the First Amendment Centre at Vanderbilt University, saying, "It is my hope that this center at Vanderbilt University... will help promote appreciation and understanding for those values so vital in a democratic society." The centre serves as a forum for dialog about First Amendment issues, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.

Over the next few years, Seigenthaler's prominent status became the focus of two arrests. During the case of white supremacist Jonathan David Brown, a federal witness testified that Seigenthaler was among the potential murder targets of Brown. The witness stated that he and Brown had attended a reception that Seigenthaler was at, "for future reference." Then, just days after the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, two brothers facing weapons charges, Sean and Brian Bottoms, had reportedly acknowledged that they were considering kidnapping Seigenthaler. That turned out to be incorrect, when it was revealed Seigenthaler's son, John Jr., was one of the intended targets.

In 2002, Vanderbilt renamed the 57,000-square-foot (5,300 m²) building that houses the Freedom Forum, First Amendment Center, and Diversity Institute the John Seigenthaler Centre. At one point, USA Today and Freedom Forum founder Allen Neuharth called Seigenthaler "the best champion of the First Amendment."

Wikipedia controversy

In May 2005, an anonymous user (later identified as Brian Chase) created a five-sentence Wikipedia article about Seigenthaler which contained defamatory content. The article remained largely unchanged for four months, until it was brought to Seigenthaler's attention.

Seigenthaler contacted Wikipedia in September, and the content was deleted. He later wrote an op-ed on the experience for USA Today on November 29, in which he wrote "Wikipedia is a flawed and irresponsible research tool." The op-ed prompted many commentators to write about the issue and the reliability of open editing models in the following weeks.

Publications

Seigenthaler, John (2004). James K. Polk: 1845-1849: The American Presidents Series. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-6942-9.
Seigenthaler, John (1974). The Year of the Scandal Called Watergate. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-914636-01-4.
Seigenthaler, John (1971). A Search for Justice. Aurora Publishers. ISBN 0-87695-003-9.

________________________________________________________________________________

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tennessean
The July 27, 2005 front page of The Tennessean
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner	Gannett Company
Publisher	Ellen Leifeld
Editor	Mark Silverman
Founded	1907
Headquarters	1100 Broadway Nashville, Tennessee37203 United States
Circulation	174,073 Daily 232,334 Sunday^[1]
Official website	Tennessean.com

This article is about the newspaper. For other uses, see Tennessean.

The Tennessean (known until 1970 as The Nashville Tennessean) is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky.

As of November 2, 2005, the paper reported daily circulation of 177,714; Saturday circulation of 199,489 and Sunday circulation of 250,575. These values were lower than Audit Bureau of Circulations figures for late 2004, which listed circulation as 199,366, 199,366 and 271,849, respectively.

It is owned by the Gannett Corporation, which also owns several smaller community newspapers in Middle Tennessee, including the Dickson Herald, the Gallatin News-Examiner, the Hendersonville Star-News, the Fairview Observer, and the Ashland City Times. Its circulation area overlaps those of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle and the The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, two other independent Gannett papers.

The company publishes several specialty publications including the Nashville Record, Metromix Nashville (a weekly entertainment-oriented publication), and Nashville Lifestyles magazine. It publishes Davidson AM, Williamson AM, and Rutherford AM, local supplements covering these counties.

The paper's primary print competitors are the daily The City Paper, the weekly Nashville Scene and the Nashville Business Journal. In 2004 Gannett announced the acquisition of the Franklin Review-Appeal, and the The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro from Morris Multimedia. The Review-Appeal became a supplement of The Tennessean, while the Daily News Journal continued to operate as an independent newspaper.

The paper maintains two Goss Colorliner presses. In 2002, the paper completed installation of a MAN Roland UNISET press, which is now used to print regional editions of USA Today, as well as commercial printing jobs.

Ellen Leifeld was named as publisher in September 2005, succeeding Leslie Giallombardo, who became the newspaper's first female publisher in April 2002.

Frank Sutherland served as editor of the newspaper from 1989-2004. He began his journalism career as a reporter at the paper in the 1960s, and returned as editor after a serving in several leadership positions at other newspapers. He announced his retirement in September of 2004. He was briefly succeeded by Everett J. Mitchell II, the former managing editor of the Detroit News, who was the first African American to be editor of The Tennessean. In September 2006, Mark Silverman was announced as editor.

History

The Tennessean, Nashville's primary daily newspaper, traces its roots back to the Nashville Whig, a weekly paper that began publication on September 1, 1812. The paper underwent various mergers and acquisitions throughout the 19th century, emerging as the Nashville American.

The first issue of the Nashville Tennessean was printed on Sunday May 12, 1907. The paper was founded by Col. Luke Lea, a 28-year-old attorney and local political activist.

In 1910, the publishers purchased a controlling interest in the Nashville American. They began publishing an edition known as The Tennessean American. When the American formally folded in 1911, some of its employees banded together to found the Nashville Democrat. This paper was purchased by the Tennessean in 1913.

In 1931, Col. Luke Lea and his son Luke Lea, Jr. were indicted for their role in the failure of the Central Bank and Trust Co. of Asheville, North Carolina. On March 3, 1933, the newspaper was placed under federal receivership, and Ashland City attorney and former Tennessean editorial writer Littleton J. Pardue was appointed to direct the paper. Under his leadership circulation grew swiftly, but the newspaper continued to lose money.

In 1935, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation acquired a large portion of the paper's outstanding bonds. It eventually sold them to Paul Davis, president of the First American National Bank of Nashville.

Still suffering from effects of the Great Depression, the paper was sold at auction in 1937, when it was purchased for $850,000 by Silliman Evans, Sr. a former reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Evans came to an agreement with Nashville Banner publisher James Stahlman to move both newspapers into new offices at 1100 Broadway. He created the Newspaper Printing Corporation as a business agent for both papers. As part of this agreement, the Tennessean ceased publication of its evening editions, and the Banner ceased publication of its Sunday edition. The two newspapers maintained a joint operating agreement from 1937 until the Banner ceased publication February 20, 1998. The two papers operated out of the same building and shared advertising and production staff, but maintained separate (and distinct) ownership and editorial voices.

On June 2, 1955, Silliman Evans Jr. was named president of the paper. After his father died unexpectedly of a heart attack on June 26, the board of the paper elected him publisher, and he became president of the Newspaper Printing Corporation in August.

In 1957, Tennessean cartoonist Tom Little won a Pulitzer Prize for his cartoon encouraging parents to have their children immunized against polio.

In 1961, Silliman Evans Jr. died of a heart attack at age 36 while on his boat on Old Hickory Lake. Ownership of the newspaper passed to his mother, and several months later his brother Amon Carter Evans was named Chief Executive of the paper.

Tennessean reporters Nat Caldwell and Gene Graham won a Pulitzer Prize in 1962 "[f]or their exclusive disclosure and six years of detailed reporting, under great difficulties, of the undercover cooperation between management interests in the coal industry and the United Mine Workers." In the same year, John Seigenthaler Sr. was named editor of the newspaper. He would earn the additional title of publisher in 1973.

Offices for The Tennessean. The Gannett logo replaced the Nashville Banner logo in 1998.

In 1972, the Gannett Corporation purchased the Nashville Banner from the Stahlman family. In 1979, Gannett sold the Banner to a group of local investors including political figure John Jay Hooker, businessman Brownlee Currey and Franklin banker Irby Simpkins for about $25 million. It then purchased the Tennessean from the Evans family for about $50 million. John Seigenthaler became president, publisher, and editor of the Gannett-owned Tennessean.

In 1976, when it was revealed that Tennessean reporter Jacqueline Srouji had for many years been working as an informant (and possibly agent provocateur) for the FBI, including spying on her colleagues at the paper, Seigenthaler fired her immediately. Srouji claimed that when she had started as a reporter for the Nashville Banner over a decade before, that paper's publisher had encouraged her to hand over information to the FBI.^[2]

In 1989, Frank Sutherland was named editor. He had begun his career as a reporter at the paper in 1963. Seigenthaler retired as publisher in 1991. He was replaced by Craig Moon, who held the post until he moved into a corporate position with Gannett in 2002; Moon was later named publisher of USA Today. Leslie Giallombardo was publisher from 2002 to 2005. Seigenthaler remains "Chairman Emeritus."

In September 1998, the paper launched Tennessean.com, its news and information website.

Among the notable journalists who have worked for The Tennessean are Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper, Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam, and cartoonist Anthony Wright.

References

^ "2007 Top 100 Daily Newspapers in the U.S. by Circulation" (PDF). BurrellesLuce. 2007-03-31. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
^ "A Special Relationship", TIME, May 24, 1976

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For the NBC News anchorman, see John Seigenthaler (anchorman). .... 4th congressional district, a seat previously held by Albert Gore, Sr., his father. On May 5 ...

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