Tom Wicker

Thomas Grey (Tom) Wicker (born June 18, 1926) is an American journalist. He is best-known as a former political reporter and columnist for "The New York Times".

Background and education

Wicker was born in Hamlet, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina. He won a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 1957. In 1993, he returned to Harvard, where he was a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government.

Career

"The New York Times"

Wicker began working in professional journalism in 1949, as editor of the small-town "Sandhill Citizen" in Aberdeen, North Carolina. By the early 1960s, he had joined the times of "The New York Times". [R.W. Apple, "Opinions Considered: A Talk With Tom Wicker," The New York Times, January 5, 1992] At the "Times", he became well-known as a political reporter—one of the lead journalists for the paper's coverage of the assassination of President Kennedy—and a shrewd observer of the Washington, D.C. scene. In that capacity, his influential "In The Nation" column ran in the "TImes" from 1966 through 1992. In an exit-interview Q & A with fellow "TImes" reporter R.W. Apple, he reflected on one primary lesson of his years in the capitol. Apple asked whether Wicker had "any heroes" in political life.:: I think it tends to work the other way. Which doesn't mean that I look at all those people with contempt—quite the opposite. But the journalist's perspective makes you see the feet of clay and the warts, and that's a good thing. I found them in many cases to be truly engaging human beings and admirable persons but not really, in the long run, impeccable heroes, or even just heroes without the "impeccable." We should try to see people as clearly as we can. Then if a hero does come into view, why, we can give him his due. [ibid.]

Books

Wicker's 1975 book "A Time to Die: The Attica Prison Revolt", which recounted the events at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, during September 1971, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Fact Crime book. He is also the author of several books about U.S. presidents, including "Kennedy Without Tears: The Man Beneath the Myth" (1964), "JFK & LBJ: The Influence of Personality Upon Politics" (1966), and "One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream" (1991). Other books include "Tragic Failure: Racial Integration in America" (1996) and "Shooting Star : The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy" (2006).

Distinguished societies

Wicker's work earned him a place on the master list of Nixon political opponents. He wrote the essay on Richard Nixon for the book "Character Above All: Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush" (1995).

References

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5DF1F3FF936A35752C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print The New York Times: Tom Wicker Interviewed by R.W. "Johnny" Apple]
* [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/character/bios/wicker.html Tom Wicker biography] via PBS.