Peter Lisagor (August 5, 1915 – December 10, 1976) was Washington bureau chief of the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...

'' from 1959 to 1976 and was one of the most respected and best-known journalists in the United States. Lisagor gained nationwide recognition from his syndicated column and appearances on such public-affairs broadcasts as ''

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. ' ...

'', ''

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Face the Nation'' is one of the longest-running news programs in the history o ...

'', ''

Washington Week in Review ''Washington Week''—previously ''Washington Week in Review''—is an American Public affairs programming, public affairs television program, which has aired on PBS and its predecessor, National Educational Television, since 1967. Unlike other p ...

'', and '' Agronsky & Company''.

Early life

Lisagor was born in

Keystone, West Virginia Keystone is a city in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 176. Keystone is one of the few municipalities in West Virginia with an African-American majority, with 65 percent of the residents bei ...

and moved to Chicago at age 14, where he attended Marshall High School. He graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Career

Lisagor began his career in journalism in 1939 as a

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for the ''Daily News''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a sergeant in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, serving as a correspondent and London editor for the service newspaper, '' Stars and Stripes''. He returned to the ''Daily News'' after the war.

Awards

In 1948 Lisagor was selected for a

Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. ...

at Harvard University. He was a recipient of the

Newspaper Guild The NewsGuild-CWA is a trade union, labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's busin ...

's Page One award, the George Foster Peabody Broadcasting award, the William Allen White award and the Edward Weintal Prize for diplomatic reporting. He served as president of the White House Correspondents Association, the

Gridiron Club The Gridiron Club is the oldest and among the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C. History Frank A. De Puy (1854–1927) was one of several who met January 24, 1885, at the Welcker's Hotel in Washington, D.C. – ...

, the Overseas Writers Association, and the State Department Correspondents Association. In 1977, the United States' largest chapter of the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

, the Chicago Headline Club, established the Peter Lisagor Awards "to inspire Chicago-area journalists to follow his outstanding example and to recognize truly superior contributions to journalism." After Peter Lisagor died, his colleagues on ''

'' gave Mr. Lisagor's explanation of his own philosophy of reporting: "Ride down the middle of the street, shooting out windows on both sides." The competition's categories range from in-depth reporting and public service to business, commentary and feature reporting.

Death

Lisagor died in 1976 of complications from cancer of the lung and larynx. He is interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

."Washington journalist Peter Lisagor, 61, dead", ''Chicago Tribune'', December 11, 1976, accessed March 25, 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lisagor, Peter 1915 births 1976 deaths Military personnel from West Virginia United States Army personnel of World War II American reporters and correspondents American television journalists Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Chicago Daily News people Nieman Fellows Peabody Award winners People from Keystone, West Virginia United States Army soldiers University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Writers from Chicago Writers from West Virginia American male journalists