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'', and was a longtime panelist on the television discussion show ''
The McLaughlin Group''. Together with
Jules Witcover, 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 as a paymaster, Germond graduated from the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
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 autonom ...
.
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 ope ...]
'', and he was chief of Gannett's Washington bureau from 1969 until 1973.
In 1974, he joined 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 ...
'', becoming a syndicated columnist and national editor, and went on to the ''
Baltimore Sun'' when the ''Washington Star'' folded.
On television, Germond began appearing on ''
Meet the Press
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk shows, news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though the curr ...
'' in 1972 and ''
The Today Show'' in 1980. He was a fixture on ''
The McLaughlin Group'' 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, ...
and
Robert Novak.
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 ...
'' in the early 1990s, Germond was portrayed by
Chris Farley 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, ...
. 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''.
Germond retired in 2000. In 2011, he wrote several pieces on the
2012 presidential election 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 ...
.
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 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