Columnist Jack Anderson dies
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At the risk of incurring the wrath of some JU'ers over name dropping in an obit style article, I'm a bit taken aback by the news that award winning columnist Jack Anderson has died.
I know he had been in poor health, and it's been several years since the glory days of his column, but I do remember it from those glory days, and as the original article below mentions, he did strike fear into the hearts of his targets -- mostly politicians and others in power.
I used to follow his column regularly back in my younger days. It's part of what inspired me to be politically involved and aware, and helped to keep me aware of what was going on in the political world.
Though his column had basically disappeared over the last few years, he was involved in much history along the way, and he certainly left a mark upon this world as he passes from it.
Original article snippet follows. Please see original for complete story.
Pulitzer-Winning Columnist Anderson Dies
By CONNIE CASS
Associated Press
Dec 17 1:10 PM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON - Jack Anderson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning muckraking columnist who struck fear into the hearts of corrupt or secretive politicians, inspiring Nixon operatives to plot his murder, died Saturday. He was 83. Anderson died at his home in Bethesda, Md., of complications from Parkinson's disease, said one of his daughters, Laurie Anderson-Bruch.
Anderson gave up his syndicated Washington Merry-Go-Round column at age 81 in July 2004, after Parkinson's disease left him too ill to continue. He had been hired by the column's founder, Drew Pearson, in 1947.
The column broke a string of big scandals, from Eisenhower assistant Sherman Adams taking a vicuna coat and other gifts from a wealthy industrialist in 1958 to the Reagan administration's secret arms-for- hostages deal with Iran in 1986.
It appeared in some 1,000 newspapers in its heyday. Anderson took over the column after Pearson's death in 1969, working with a changing cast of co-authors and staff over the years.
A devout Mormon, Anderson looked upon journalism as a calling. He was considered one of the fathers of investigative reporting, renowned for his tenacity, aggressive techniques and influence in the nation's capital.
Anderson won a 1972 Pulitzer Prize for reporting that the Nixon administration secretly tilted toward Pakistan in its war with India. He also published the secret transcripts of the Watergate grand jury.
Such scoops earned him a spot on President Nixon's "enemies list." Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy has described how he and other Nixon political operatives planned ways to silence Anderson permanently -- such as slipping him LSD or staging a fatal car crash -- but the White House nixed the idea.
Over the years, Anderson was threatened by the Mafia and investigated by numerous government agencies trying to trace the sources of his leaks. In 1989, police investigated him for smuggling a gun into the U.S. Capitol to demonstrate security lapses.
Known for his toughness on the trail of a story, he was also praised for personal kindness. Anderson's son Kevin said that when his father's reporting led to the arrest of some involved in the Watergate scandal, he aided their families financially.
... more at linked article
I know he had been in poor health, and it's been several years since the glory days of his column, but I do remember it from those glory days, and as the original article below mentions, he did strike fear into the hearts of his targets -- mostly politicians and others in power.
I used to follow his column regularly back in my younger days. It's part of what inspired me to be politically involved and aware, and helped to keep me aware of what was going on in the political world.
Though his column had basically disappeared over the last few years, he was involved in much history along the way, and he certainly left a mark upon this world as he passes from it.
Original article snippet follows. Please see original for complete story.
Pulitzer-Winning Columnist Anderson Dies
By CONNIE CASS
Associated Press
Dec 17 1:10 PM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON - Jack Anderson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning muckraking columnist who struck fear into the hearts of corrupt or secretive politicians, inspiring Nixon operatives to plot his murder, died Saturday. He was 83. Anderson died at his home in Bethesda, Md., of complications from Parkinson's disease, said one of his daughters, Laurie Anderson-Bruch.
Anderson gave up his syndicated Washington Merry-Go-Round column at age 81 in July 2004, after Parkinson's disease left him too ill to continue. He had been hired by the column's founder, Drew Pearson, in 1947.
The column broke a string of big scandals, from Eisenhower assistant Sherman Adams taking a vicuna coat and other gifts from a wealthy industrialist in 1958 to the Reagan administration's secret arms-for- hostages deal with Iran in 1986.
It appeared in some 1,000 newspapers in its heyday. Anderson took over the column after Pearson's death in 1969, working with a changing cast of co-authors and staff over the years.
A devout Mormon, Anderson looked upon journalism as a calling. He was considered one of the fathers of investigative reporting, renowned for his tenacity, aggressive techniques and influence in the nation's capital.
Anderson won a 1972 Pulitzer Prize for reporting that the Nixon administration secretly tilted toward Pakistan in its war with India. He also published the secret transcripts of the Watergate grand jury.
Such scoops earned him a spot on President Nixon's "enemies list." Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy has described how he and other Nixon political operatives planned ways to silence Anderson permanently -- such as slipping him LSD or staging a fatal car crash -- but the White House nixed the idea.
Over the years, Anderson was threatened by the Mafia and investigated by numerous government agencies trying to trace the sources of his leaks. In 1989, police investigated him for smuggling a gun into the U.S. Capitol to demonstrate security lapses.
Known for his toughness on the trail of a story, he was also praised for personal kindness. Anderson's son Kevin said that when his father's reporting led to the arrest of some involved in the Watergate scandal, he aided their families financially.
... more at linked article