Claude Sitton
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Claude Fox Sitton (December 4, 1925 – March 10, 2015) was an American newspaper reporter and editor. He worked for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' during the 1950s and 1960s, known for his coverage of the civil rights movement."Claude Sitton, 89, Acclaimed Civil Rights Reporter, Dies."
''The New York Times''. 10 March 2015.
He went on to become national news director of the ''Times'' and then editor of ''
The News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...
'' in Raleigh, North Carolina.


Early life and education

Claude Fox Sitton was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Claude Booker and Pauline Fox Sitton and raised on a farm in Rockdale County, Georgia. He had one sibling, Paul Lyon Sitton, who was the first administrator of the
Urban Mass Transportation Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
. Sitton graduated from high school in 1943 and entered the Merchant Marine before joining the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
."Claude Sitton." Reporting Civil Rights: The LOA Anthology.
He reached the rank of boatswain’s mate 2nd class in the Navy. His primary ship was the USS LST-706. Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, Sitton entered
Oxford College of Emory University Oxford College of Emory University (Oxford College) is a residential college of Emory University, a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Oxford college is located in Oxford and specializes in the foundations of liberal arts educati ...
, moving to Emory's main campus, in Atlanta, after a year. Sitton, who started out as a business major, graduated in 1949 with a journalism degree. While at Emory, he was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, ''
The Emory Wheel ''The Emory Wheel'' is the independent, student-run newspaper at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The ''Wheel'' is published once a week on Wednesday during the regular school year, and is updated daily on its website. The sections of the '' ...
''. He returned to his alma mater to teach from 1991 to 1994, and was a member of Board of Counselors of Oxford College from 1993 to 2001. In 1953, Sitton married Eva McLaurin Whetstone. They had four children, Lauren Lea, Clinton Whetstone, Suzanna Fox and Claude McLaurin.


Career

Sitton started out with wire services, working for
International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.
and
United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
. Wanting to work outside the country, he joined the
United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill C ...
in 1955 as an information officer and press attaché at the American Embassy in Ghana."Claude Sitton, Pulitzer-winning journalist and former N&O editor has died."
The News & Observer. 10 March 2015.


''The New York Times''

Sitton joined ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as a copy editor in 1957. Nine months later, he was named Southern correspondent. Sitton covered the
civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
for the ''Times'' from 1958 to 1964. In the Pulitzer Prize-winning history of civil rights journalism ''
The Race Beat ''The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book written in 2006 by journalists Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff. The book is about the Civil Rights Movement in the United ...
'', authors Gene Roberts and
Hank Klibanoff Hank Klibanoff (born March 26, 1949 in Florence, Alabama) is an American journalist, now a professor at Emory University. He and Gene Roberts won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for History for the book '' The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Str ...
describe Sitton as the standard bearer for civil rights journalism in the 1950s. "Sitton's byline would be atop the stories that landed on the desks of three presidents," they write. "His phone number would be carried protectively in the wallets of the civil rights workers who saw him, and the power of his byline, as their best hope for survival."''The Race Beat''
at Amazon.com
In 1964, Sitton was named national news director of the ''Times''. He left the ''Times'' in 1968 for The News & Observer.


''The News & Observer''

In 1968, Sitton moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, to become editorial director and vice president of The News and Observer Publishing Co. Within two years, he was also editor of ''The News & Observer.'' He oversaw the editorial and news pages of ''The News & Observer'' and the news in its afternoon sister paper, '' The Raleigh Times''. Sitton was a forceful editor who was determined to hold accountable those he thought were not acting in the public good. Among those his paper covered who eventually stepped down were Wake County school superintendent John Murphy, North Carolina State University Chancellor Bruce Poulton and popular NCSU basketball coach Jim Valvano. Sitton retired in 1990 as editor of ''The News & Observer'' and vice president of The News & Observer Publishing Co.


Death

Sitton died March 10, 2015, in
hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
care in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, from congestive heart failure. He was 89. Survivors included his wife of 61 years, Eva Whetstone, four children and 10 grandchildren.


Awards

In addition to the Pulitzer for commentary, which he won in 1983, Sitton received the George Polk Career Award (1991) and
John Chancellor Award John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism is an annual award of $25,000 selected by a panel of journalists, for courageous and sustained reporting. Established in 1995, the award was formerly administered by the University of Pennsylvania ...
for excellence in journalism (2000). Sitton lived in
Oxford, Georgia Oxford is a city in Newton County, Georgia, Newton County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the city population was 2,134. It is the location of Oxford College of Emory University. Mu ...
.


References


External links

*
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Claude Fox Sitton papers, circa 1958-2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitton, Claude American newspaper reporters and correspondents Pulitzer Prize for Commentary winners 1925 births 2015 deaths Writers from Atlanta Journalists from Georgia (U.S. state) The News & Observer American male non-fiction writers Emory University faculty 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Emory College alumni