John Seigenthaler
Encyclopedia
John Lawrence Seigenthaler is an American journalist
, writer, and political figure
. He is known as a prominent defender of First Amendment
rights.
Seigenthaler joined the Nashville newspaper 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.
, 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
.
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
.
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. Seigenthaler won a National Headliner Award for the story.
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.
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.
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.
. 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.
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 and shouted "Get back! I'm with the Federal government" 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."
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. 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.
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." 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 pallbearer
s 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.
The New Yorker described Seigenthaler as being "well connected in the Democratic Party." He was called a "close family friend" of the Kennedys, a "longtime family friend" of the Gores, and a friend of former Democratic Senator James Sasser. In 1976, after having encouraged Al Gore
to consider entering public life, he tipped off Gore that a nearby U. S. House representative was retiring. In 1981, Seigenthaler urged Sen. Sasser to return to the Democratic party's "liberal tradition": "I keep telling him that Reagan's going to make it respectable to be a liberal." In 1984, Reagan's reelection team vetoed Seigenthaler as a debate panelist for being too liberal.
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 tip him off that he had heard that U.S. Representative
Joe L. Evins
was retiring, telling Gore "You know what I think." Seiganthaler previously had been encouraging Gore to consider entering public life. 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.
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.
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".
Historian E. Thomas Wood
says that "without question" Seigenthaler ran the newspaper as a liberal one.
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.
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.
established the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, honoring Seigenthaler's "lifelong commitment to free expression values".
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.
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
, 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.
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."
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.
article about Seigenthaler which contained false and defamatory content. 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", 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.
Media of the United States
Media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The U.S...
, writer, and political figure
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
. He is known as a prominent defender of First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
rights.
Seigenthaler joined the Nashville newspaper The Tennessean
The Tennessean
The 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....
in 1949, resigning in 1960 to act as Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
's administrative assistant. He rejoined The Tennessean as editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
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
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
from 1982 to 1991. During this period, he served on the board of directors for the American Society of Newspaper Editors
American Society of Newspaper Editors
The American Society of News Editors is a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of media-related foundations and training organizations...
, and from 1988 to 1989 was its president.
Early life
Born in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Seigenthaler is the oldest of eight siblings. He attended Father Ryan High School
Father Ryan High School
Father Ryan High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville and named for Father Abram J. Ryan.-Campus:...
and served in the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
from 1946 to 1949. After leaving the service, Seigenthaler was hired at The Tennessean
The Tennessean
The 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....
.
While working at The Tennessean, Seigenthaler took courses in sociology and literature at Peabody College
Peabody College
Peabody College of Education and Human Development was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions...
, now part of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. He also attended the American Press Institute for Reporters at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Journalism
Seigenthaler began his career in journalism as a police beat reporter in The Tennessean city room after his uncle encouraged an editor about his talent. Seigenthaler gradually established himself on the staff among heavy competition that included future standout journalists David HalberstamDavid Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
and Tom Wicker
Tom Wicker
Thomas Grey "Tom" Wicker was an American journalist. He was best known as a political reporter and columnist for The New York Times.-Background and education:...
.
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.
Less than a year later, on October 5, 1954, Seigenthaler once again made national news for his efforts in saving a suicidal
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
man from jumping off the Shelby Street Bridge
Shelby Street Bridge
The Shelby Street Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was originally opened on July 5, 1909, and was reopened as a pedestrian bridge on August 3, 2003...
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
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
. Williams muttered "I'll never forgive you" to Seigenthaler.
In July 1957, Seigenthaler began a battle to eliminate corruption within the local branch of the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
, 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
Dave Beck
Dave Beck was an American labor leader, and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1952 to 1957...
and Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
, both top Teamsters officials, but the two men ignored Seigenthaler's queries. His series of articles resulted in the impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
trial of Chattanooga Criminal Court Judge Ralston Schoolfield.
Seigenthaler took a one-year sabbatical from The Tennessean in 1958 to participate in Harvard University's
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
prestigious Nieman Fellowship
Nieman Fellowship
The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
program. Upon returning to The Tennessean, Seigenthaler became an assistant city editor and special assignment reporter.
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. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
. On April 21, 1961, Seigenthaler was the only other Justice Department figure to witness a meeting between Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
.
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
John Malcolm Patterson
John Malcolm Patterson is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Alabama, from 1959 to 1963. Previously he served as State Attorney General ....
. 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.
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 and shouted "Get back! I'm with the Federal government" 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."
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. 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.
Seigenthaler's friendship with Kennedy became one of the focal points of Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
's bid to shift his jury tampering
Jury tampering
Jury tampering is the crime of unduly attempting to influence the composition and/or decisions of a jury during the course of a trial.The means by which this crime could be perpetrated can include attempting to discredit potential jurors to ensure they will not be selected for duty. Once selected,...
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
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
in a change of venue
Change of venue
A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to widespread publicity about a crime and/or its defendant to another...
, 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
Bill Kovach
Bill Kovach is a US journalist, former Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, former editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and co-author of the popular book, The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and The Public Should Expect.- Biography :Born in 1932 in East...
. The action came after Kovach had refused to leave a committee hearing following a call for executive session
Executive session
An executive session is a portion of the United States Senate's daily session in which it considers nominations and treaties, or other items introduced by the President of the United States. These items are termed executive business; therefore, the session is an executive session. It can either be...
.
In December 1966, Seigenthaler and Richard Goodwin
Richard Goodwin
Richard Goodwin may refer to:*Richard N. Goodwin , American writer and advisor to US Presidents Kennedy and Johnson*Richard M. Goodwin , American mathematician and economist*Richard Elton Goodwin , British Army General...
represented the Kennedy family when controversy developed about historian William Manchester
William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into over 20 languages...
's book about the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, The Death of a President
The Death of a President
The Death of a President, November 20–November 25, 1963 is historian William Manchester's 1967 account of the assassination of John F. Kennedy...
. 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 pallbearer
Pallbearer
A pall-bearer is one of several funeral participants who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious or memorial service or viewing either directly to a cemetery or mausoleum, or to and from the hearse which carries the coffin....
s 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
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Joseph Aloysius Durick
Joseph Aloysius Durick
Joseph Aloysius Durick was a U.S. Roman Catholic bishop and civil rights advocate. He publicly opposed the Vietnam War and the death penalty, which led to criticism from conservative circles...
in 1969 during the latter's contentious fight to end segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
, a stance that outraged many in the community who still believed in the concept.
The New Yorker described Seigenthaler as being "well connected in the Democratic Party." He was called a "close family friend" of the Kennedys, a "longtime family friend" of the Gores, and a friend of former Democratic Senator James Sasser. In 1976, after having encouraged Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
to consider entering public life, he tipped off Gore that a nearby U. S. House representative was retiring. In 1981, Seigenthaler urged Sen. Sasser to return to the Democratic party's "liberal tradition": "I keep telling him that Reagan's going to make it respectable to be a liberal." In 1984, Reagan's reelection team vetoed Seigenthaler as a debate panelist for being too liberal.
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
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, then a reporter, on investigative stories about Nashville city council corruption in the early 1970s. In February 1976, Seigenthaler contacted Gore at home to tip him off that he had heard that U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Joe L. Evins
Joe L. Evins
Joseph Landon Evins was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1947 to 1977.Evins was a native of the Blend Community of DeKalb County, Tennessee, the son of James Edgar Evins and Myrtie Goodson Evins. His father was a Tennessee state senator and a successful local businessman.Joe L...
was retiring, telling Gore "You know what I think." Seiganthaler previously had been encouraging Gore to consider entering public life. Gore decided to resign from the paper and drop out of Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law has consistently ranked among the top 20 law schools in the nation, and is currently ranked 16th in the 2012...
, beginning his political career by entering the race for Tennessee's 4th congressional district
Tennessee's 4th congressional district
The 4th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle and East Tennessee. It is the state's largest district in terms of area, and one of the largest east of the Mississippi River, because of low population density and rural character...
, a seat previously held by Albert Gore, Sr.
Albert Gore, Sr.
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Sr. was an American politician, serving as a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party from Tennessee....
, his father.
On May 5, 1976, Seigenthaler dismissed Jacque Srouji, a copy editor
Copy editing
Copy editing is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of text. Unlike general editing, copy editing might not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication...
at The Tennessean, after finding that she had served as an informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
for the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(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
United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration and is also charged with researching and investigating all problems of American small business enterprises.-History:The...
, which was investigating nuclear safety
Nuclear safety
Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power,...
. Srouji, who was writing a book critical of Karen Silkwood
Karen Silkwood
Karen Gay Silkwood was an American labor union activist and chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, United States. Silkwood's job was making plutonium pellets for nuclear reactor fuel rods...
, 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
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
establishments, as well as one on a local business suspected of fraud.
Afterwards the FBI appears to have collected rumors about Seigenthaler. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Homer Boynton told an editor of the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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".
Historian E. Thomas Wood
E. Thomas Wood
E. Thomas Wood is an American journalist, historian and freelance writer. He currently works as a reporter for NashvillePost.com, a local business and political news website in Nashville, Tennessee....
says that "without question" Seigenthaler ran the newspaper as a liberal one.
In May 1982, Seigenthaler was named the first editorial director of USA Today. In announcing the appointment, Gannett president Allen Neuharth
Allen Neuharth
Allen Harold "Al" Neuharth is an American businessman, author, and columnist. He is the founder of USA Today, The Freedom Forum, and its Newseum.-Early life:...
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
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to fulfill his duties at both newspapers.
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
Ray Blanton
Leonard Ray Blanton was the 44th Governor of Tennessee from 1975 to 1979. Blanton's administration was rife with corruption.-Early life and Congress:...
. 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.
Later life
In 1986, Middle Tennessee State UniversityMiddle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
established the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, honoring Seigenthaler's "lifelong commitment to free expression values".
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.
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
First Amendment Center
The First Amendment Center is an advocacy group in the United States that works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education. The Center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of...
at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, 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
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
issues, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
In 1996, Seigenthaler received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy
Elijah P. Lovejoy
Elijah Parish Lovejoy was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor and abolitionist. He was murdered by an opposition mob in Alton, Illinois during their attack on his warehouse to destroy his press and abolitionist materials.Lovejoy's father was a Congregational minister...
Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
.
In 2001, Seigenthaler was appointed to the National Commission on Federal Election Reform
National Commission on Federal Election Reform
The United States presidential election, 2000 was one of the most controversial ever. Legal challenges were taken all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States before Al Gore conceded the election to President George W...
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
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
reporter Jack Kelley
Jack Kelley
Jack Kelley was a longtime USA Today reporter and nominee and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2002.He is perhaps best known for his professional downfall in March 2004, when it came out that he had long been fabricating stories, going so far as to write up scripts so associates could pretend to...
had fabricated some of his stories, USA Today turned to Seigenthaler, along with veteran editors Bill Hilliard and Bill Kovach
Bill Kovach
Bill Kovach is a US journalist, former Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, former editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and co-author of the popular book, The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and The Public Should Expect.- Biography :Born in 1932 in East...
, to monitor the investigation.
In 2002, Vanderbilt renamed the 57,000-square-foot (5,300 m²) building that houses the Freedom Forum
Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum was created in 1991 under the direction of Al Neuharth, former publisher of USA Today newspaper. Funding was provided by a foundation started by publisher Frank E. Gannett in 1935, called the Gannett Foundation...
, First Amendment Center, and Diversity Institute the John Seigenthaler Center. At one point, USA Today and Freedom Forum founder Allen Neuharth
Allen Neuharth
Allen Harold "Al" Neuharth is an American businessman, author, and columnist. He is the founder of USA Today, The Freedom Forum, and its Newseum.-Early life:...
called Seigenthaler "the best champion of the First Amendment."
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
John F. Kennedy Library
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, next to the Boston campus of the University of...
Foundation's Profiles in Courage Award and the RFK Memorial's Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.
Wikipedia controversy
In May 2005, an anonymous user created a five-sentence WikipediaWikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
article about Seigenthaler which contained false and defamatory content. Seigenthaler contacted Wikipedia in September, and the content was deleted. He later wrote an op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
on the experience for USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
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", 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.