Kenneth G. Crawford (1902–1983), was an American newspaper and magazine journalist for '' PM'' and '' Newsweek'' and during a "distinguished career" was a confidant of US presidents from

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

Background

Kenneth G. Crawford was born on May 27, 1902, in Sparta, Wisconsin, and grew up in

Jefferson, Wisconsin Jefferson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States, and is its county seat. It is at the confluence of the Rock and Crawfish rivers. The population was 7,973 at the 2010 census. The city is partially bordered by the Town of Jeff ...

. He graduated from Beloit College.

Career

In 1924, fresh out of college, Crawford joined the United Press news wire service in Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Lansing, Indianapolis, and Washington, DC. He moved to the ''Buffalo Times'' and then in 1933 returned to Washington with the '' New York Post''. He also contributed to the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'', '' The Nation'', and '' The New Republic''. In 1939, Crawford joined '' PM'', a left-liberal newspaper. When

Heywood Broun Heywood Campbell Broun Jr. (; December 7, 1888 – December 18, 1939) was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, later known as The Newspaper ...

, founder of the American Newspaper Guild, died that year, he succeeded him as the guild's second president. In 1943, Crawford joined ''Newsweek'' and returned to Washington. On D-Day in 1944, he was the first journalist to land at Normandy on Utah Beach with the US 4th Infantry Division. In 1949, he became national affairs editor for the magazine. In 1954, he became Washington bureau chief. In 1961, he became Washington columnist after Philip L. Graham bought ''Newsweek'' for the Washington Post-Newsweek group. He retired from ''Newsweek'' in 1970. He continued to contribute signed pieces as late as 1976.

Personal life and death

Crawford married Elisabeth Bartholomew; they had a daughter and son. Ken Crawford died age 80 on January 14, 1983, in New York City of lung cancer.

Awards

* US Navy commendation * French Liberation Medal

Legacy

According to his ''Washington Post'' obituary, Crawford was one of the few "pundits" trusted by US President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The ''Post'' also reported that Ernest Hemingway said of him after his landing at Normandy, "He was beauty brave in action... Everybody loved him and they used to ask me, hard, to try to keep him from getting killed." ''Post'' editor

Benjamin Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (, 1921 – , 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor, then as executive editor of ''The Washington Post'', from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the ''Post'' joined ''The New Y ...

said of him, "Through his dedication to lean, explicit prose, and to fairness and integrity, he set high standards for all of us."

Works

* ''The Pressure Boys'' (1939) * ''Report on North Africa'' (1944) * ''Presidents Who Have Known Me'' (1950) - ghostwritten for George Allen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Kenneth G. Newsweek people American magazine journalists American newspaper journalists 1902 births 1983 deaths