John Lawrence Seigenthaler was an American journalist, writer, and political figure.
24 Facts About John Seigenthaler
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John Seigenthaler was known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights.
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John Seigenthaler rejoined The Tennessean as editor in 1962, publisher in 1973, and chairman in 1982 before retiring as chairman emeritus in 1991.
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John Seigenthaler attended Father Ryan High School and served in the US Air Force from 1946 to 1949, achieving the rank of sergeant.
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John Seigenthaler attended the American Press Institute for Reporters at Columbia University.
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John 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.
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John Seigenthaler gradually established himself on the staff among the heavy competition that included future standout journalists David Halberstam and Tom Wicker.
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John Seigenthaler first gained prominence in November 1953 when he tracked down the former Thomas C Buntin and his wife.
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Less than a year later, on October 5,1954, John Seigenthaler again made national news for saving a suicidal man from jumping off the Shelby Street Bridge in Nashville.
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In July 1957, John Seigenthaler began a battle to eliminate corruption within the local branch of the Teamsters, noting the criminal backgrounds of key employees, along with the use of intimidation in keeping news of certain union activities quiet.
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John Seigenthaler took a one-year sabbatical from The Tennessean in 1958 to participate in Harvard University's prestigious Nieman Fellowship program.
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John Seigenthaler was a block away when he rushed to help Susan Wilbur, a Freedom Rider who was being chased by the angry mob.
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John Seigenthaler had read an early version of the book, leading to Jacqueline Kennedy threatening a lawsuit over inaccurate and private statements.
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John Seigenthaler then took a temporary leave from his duties at the newspaper to work on Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.
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On February 8,1973, John Seigenthaler was promoted to publisher of the Tennessean, after Amon Carter Evans was named president of Tennessean Newspaper, Inc.
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On May 5,1976, John 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 for much of the previous decade.
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In May 1982, John Seigenthaler was named the first editorial director of USA Today.
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John Seigenthaler announced his retirement in December 1991 from The Tennessean, just months after he made a similar announcement concerning his tenure at USA Today.
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In 1996, John Seigenthaler received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College.
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In 2001, John Seigenthaler was appointed to the National Commission on Federal Election Reform that followed the 2000 presidential election.
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John Seigenthaler was a member of the Constitution Project on Liberty and Security.
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On May 26,2005, an unregistered Wikipedia user created a five-sentence biographical article about John Seigenthaler that contained false and defamatory content.
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John Seigenthaler noted that the falsehoods written about him on Wikipedia were later posted on Answers.
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John Seigenthaler died of complications from colon cancer on July 11,2014, at the age of 86, surrounded by his family in his home.