10 Facts About Les Payne

1.

Les Payne served as an editor and columnist at Newsday and was a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists.

2.

In 1954, Les Payne moved with his mother to Hartford, Connecticut, where she remarried.

3.

The first member of his family to attend college, Les Payne graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1964 with a degree in English.

4.

Les Payne was interested in pursuing a career in journalism, but as an African American he found no opportunities in the mainstream press.

5.

Les Payne ended his army career with two years as an information officer, writing speeches for General William Westmoreland and running the army newspaper.

6.

Les Payne's reporting from South Africa during the 1976 Soweto Uprising was selected by the jury for a Pulitzer Prize in International Journalism, but the group's advisory board overruled their decision with no explanation.

7.

Les Payne started writing a weekly column for Newsday in 1980.

8.

Les Payne served as Newsdays national editor and assistant managing editor for foreign and national news; at different times, he was responsible for the newspaper's coverage of health and science, New York City, and investigations.

9.

Les Payne was responsible for New York Newsday, the newspaper's short-lived attempt to compete in the New York City market.

10.

Les Payne's staff won many journalism awards, including six Pulitzer Prizes.