John Worthen Germond (January 30, 1928 – August 14, 2013), known as Jack Germond, was an American journalist, author, and

pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

whose career spanned over 50 years. Germond wrote for the ''

Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star ...

'' and the ''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'', and was a longtime panelist on the television discussion show ''

The McLaughlin Group ''The McLaughlin Group'' was a syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program in the United States, during which a group of four pundits, prompted by the host, discusses current political issues in a round table format. John Mc ...

''. Together with

Jules Witcover Jules Joseph Witcover (born July 16, 1927) is an American journalist, author, and columnist. Biography Witcover is a veteran newspaperman of 50 years' standing, having written for ''The Baltimore Sun'', the now-defunct ''Washington Star'', the '' ...

, Germond also co-wrote "Politics Today," a five-day-a-week syndicated column, for almost a quarter-century.

Early years

Germond was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. After serving in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a paymaster, Germond graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

with bachelor's degrees in journalism and history.

Career

Germond began his career in 1951 writing for the ''Evening News'' in

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomo ...

. In 1953, he moved to

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Rochester Times-Union The ''Times-Union'' was a daily evening newspaper in the greater Rochester, New York, area for 79 years. It was published as an afternoon daily counterpart to the morning '' Democrat and Chronicle'' under the ownership of Gannett when it ceased o ...

'', and he was chief of Gannett's Washington bureau from 1969 until 1973. In 1974, he joined the ''

'', becoming a syndicated columnist and national editor, and went on to the ''

'' when the ''Washington Star'' folded. On television, Germond began appearing on ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...

'' in 1972 and ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'' in 1980. He was a fixture on ''

'' from the show's inception 1982, acting as a "liberal voice" against conservative guests such as

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...

and

Robert Novak Robert David Sanders Novak (February 26, 1931 – August 18, 2009) was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving in the ...

. When ''The McLaughlin Group'' was parodied on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' in the early 1990s, Germond was portrayed by

Chris Farley Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. Farley was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the ...

and

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...

. Germond left the program in 1996, citing a decline in the show's discourse and frustration with John McLaughlin's heavy-handed moderation. He was later featured as a panelist on the PBS program ''

Inside Washington ''Inside Washington'', formerly ''Agronsky & Co.'', was a political roundtable show hosted by the WJLA news presenter and chief political reporter Gordon Peterson that aired from 1988 to 2013. It was produced by Allbritton, then-owner of WJLA, ...

''. Germond retired in 2000. In 2011, he wrote several pieces on the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: E ...

for ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'', an online-only publication.

Personal life

Germond married Barbara Wippler in 1951. They had two daughters, Mandy and Jessica, before divorcing. In 1995, Germond married Alice Travis, a former secretary of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. Germond was stepfather to Alice's two children, Abby and David, from her prior marriage. Germond died at his home in

Charles Town, West Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...

on August 14, 2013, aged 85.

Bibliography

With Witcover

*''Blue Smoke & Mirrors: How Reagan Won and Why Carter Lost the Election of 1980'', Viking Press (1981) * *''Whose Broad Stripes and Bright Stars? The Trivial Pursuit of the Presidency 1988'', Warner Books (1989) *''Mad As Hell: Revolt at the Ballot Box 1992'', Warner Books (1992)

Solo

* *

References

External links

* *
Official Random House list of his books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Germond, Jack 1928 births 2013 deaths American male journalists American political writers The Baltimore Sun people Writers from Boston University of Missouri alumni The Washington Star people Journalists from Massachusetts