John Herbers is an American journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, author, editor, World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 veteran, and Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

 finalist.

Early life

Herbers was born in Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

. At age 18, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the Pacific theater during World War II. After the war, he was educated at Emory University

Emory University

Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...

, graduating in 1949.

Career

Herbers began his career at Greenwood, Mississippi, Morning Star and Jackson, Mississippi, Daily News. From 1953 to 1963 he reported from Mississippi for the United Press International. He joined the staff of the New York Times in 1963 where he covered civil rights, Congress, presidential campaigns, and urban affairs. Herbers was appointed the Times assistant national editor in 1975, deputy Washington bureau chief in 1977, and national Washington correspondent in 1979. He retired in 1987.

Books

His books include The Lost Priority: What Happened to the Civil Rights Movement in America? (1970), The Black Dilemma (1973), No Thank You, Mr. President (1976) and The New Heartland: America's Flight Beyond the Suburbs and How It Is Changing Our Future (1986).

Personal life

Herbers has been married to Betty Herbers since 1953. They live in Bethesda, Maryland, and have four daughters, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.