William Robert Neikirk (January 6, 1938 – August 27, 2020) was an American journalist, editor, and author. He spent 48 years as a reporter and served as

White House correspondent The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' during the Clinton administration.

Early life and education

Neikirk was born on January 6, 1938, in Irvine, Kentucky, to parents Lewis Byron Neikirk and Nancy Elizabeth (Green) Neikirk. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts 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 year ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

in 1960.

Career

Neikirk began his career in 1959, as a part-time sports reporter for the ''

Lexington Herald The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second larg ...

''. He would join the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

in 1961, working first in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, then Lexington, and then in Frankfort as state capital correspondent. He would then move to AP's

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

, bureau in 1966 to cover civil rights and regional issues. Neikirk was transferred to the AP Washington bureau in 1969 to cover U.S. economic policy. Neikirk joined the ''Chicago Tribune'' Washington bureau in 1974 to cover U.S. and international economics, serving two stints as White House correspondent. He returned to Chicago in 1988, to serve as associate managing editor for financial news. Neikirk was the Chief Washington correspondent for the ''Chicago Tribune'' from 1998 to 2008. Neikirk appeared frequently on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, C-SPAN, and other nationally televised public affairs programs. He wrote nationally syndicated column on economics for the ''Chicago Tribune,'' 1980–1994. and served as news editor of the ''Chicago Tribune'' Washington bureau, from 1983 to 1988. He retired from the Chicago Tribune in 2008.

Death

Neikirk had

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

and died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

at his home in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

, on August 27, 2020, at age 82, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia The COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first confirmed case was reported on March 7, 2020, in Fort Belvoir, and the first suspected case arrived in Virginia on February 23, 2020, which was a man who had ...

Awards

* Society of American Business Editors and Writers Award, 1978. * John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business Writing, 1979, for series, "The Changing American Worker," in the ''Chicago Tribune.'' * Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial journalism, for series, "The Changing American Worker," in the ''Chicago Tribune.'' * Runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize for series on the impact of world trade, 1979. * Amos Tuck Graduate School of Business award for business writing, Dartmouth College, 1980. * Raymond Clapper Memorial Award, 1982, for series on ''Rearming America,'' ''Chicago Tribune.'' * Merriman Smith Memorial Award for presidential reporting, 1995. * Inducted into Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, 1998. * Named a distinguished alumnus, University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media, 2018.

Memberships

* President, The Gridiron Club, prestigious organization of journalists, Washington, 2007. * Member,

White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

, 1971–2008. * Member,

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

, Washington, 1971–2020.

Works

* * * * *

References

External links

* Personal website: https://www.williamneikirk.com * Scholarship fund
William R. Neikirk Scholarship Fund
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neikirk, William 1938 births 2020 deaths American political journalists Journalists from Kentucky Journalists from Arlington County, Virginia People from Irvine, Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 21st-century American journalists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia