John Thomas McManus (1904 – November 1961) was an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
active in
progressive politics
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...
in the 1950s and 1960s best known as co-founder of the ''
National Guardian
''The National Guardian'', later known as ''The Guardian'', was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in connection with the 194 ...
'', a
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
-leaning newspaper.
Background
McManus was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Career
McManus worked from 1921 to 1937 for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as a copy boy, police reporter, writer on
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, and movie reviewer, except for a few years when he left to obtain a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Marietta College
Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...
in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. In 1937 he resigned from the ''
Times
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems.
Time or times may also refer to:
Temporal measurement
* Time in physics, defined by its measurement
* Time standard, civil time specific ...
'' to join the staff of
''Time'' magazine as radio critic. In 1940,
William Saroyan
William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...
lists him among "contributing editors" at ''Time'' in the play, ''Love's Old Sweet Song''. He resigned to join the staff of
''PM'', a left-of-center
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
daily.
In the postwar period, McManus was actively involved in electoral politics. In 1948, he served on the national committee of the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
Active parties
* Progressive Party, Brazil
* Progressive Party (Chile)
* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
* Progressive Party (Iceland)
* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Italy
...
in support of the presidential candidacy of former vice-president
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...
. In
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
and
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
, McManus ran for
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
on the
American Labor Party
The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of ...
ticket. In
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
, he ran again for Governor of New York, this time on the
Independent-Socialist
John Thomas McManus (1904 – November 1961) was an American journalist active in progressive politics in the 1950s and 1960s best known as co-founder of the ''National Guardian'', a left-leaning newspaper.
Background
McManus was born in New Yor ...
ticket.
In 1949, McManus co-founded the ''
National Guardian
''The National Guardian'', later known as ''The Guardian'', was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in connection with the 194 ...
'', a progressive newspaper, with fellow former ''Times'' writer
James Aronson
James Aronson (1915–1988) was an American journalist. He founded the ''National Guardian''. He was a graduate of Harvard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Career
Aronson, known as "Jim" to his friends, worked ...
. The paper was critical of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
and
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
The term origin ...
and supportive of the
labor movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
and
racial equality
Racial equality is a situation in which people of all races and ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and political rights. In present-day Western society, ...
. He would co-edit the paper until his death.
In November 1955, McManus and Aronson were among 26 former and current ''New York Times'' employees subpoenaed by the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
The United States Senate's Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951–77, known more commonly as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and sometimes the M ...
. The subcommittee was investigating
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
infiltration in the American media. The subpoenas were based upon the testimony of
Winston Burdett
Winston Burdett (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 1993) was an American broadcast journalist and correspondent for the CBS Radio Network during World War II and later for CBS television news. During the war he became a member of Edward R. Mur ...
, a famous
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
war correspondent. In 1956, McManus testified, citing
Fifth Amendment protections to avoid naming names or admit any knowledge of Communist activities.
Personal and death
McManus met his wife, journalist Jane Bedell McManus (ca. 1920-2005), while working at the ''National Guardian'' in the 1950s. They adopted two children, Enid Paul Mayberry and Sharon Mayberry.
He died, age 56, of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
in 1961. His wife moved in 1969 to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
to live with her third husband
William Lee Brent
William Lee Brent (1931 – November 4, 2006) was an American member of the Black Panther Party and defector, best known for hijacking a passenger jet and diverting it to Cuba in 1969, where he spent the last 37 years of his life in exile. ...
, whom she met and married on the island, until her death.
Interviewed in Olga R. Rodriguez, "Revolution is a Moment," Cubans 2001, U.C. Berkeley
/ref>
See also
''National Guardian
''The National Guardian'', later known as ''The Guardian'', was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in connection with the 194 ...
''
Writings
"M. Debalta, Reporter, Sees Ghosts,"
''The New York Times'', Aug. 15, 1937
References
External links
''New York Times'', November 23, 1961 (subscription required)
List of all movie reviews in ''The New York Times'' by John T. McManus
Jan. 16, 1956.
letter to editor of ''The New York Times'', May 12, 1996
{{DEFAULTSORT:McManus, John T.
American male journalists
American reporters and correspondents
The New York Times writers
1904 births
1961 deaths
American Labor Party politicians
Progressive Party (United States, 1948) politicians
Independent-Socialist Party politicians
Radio critics
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American male writers