John Seigenthaler, the legendary editor and publisher of The Tennessean, succumbed this morning after a long battle with cancer. He was 86.
A lifelong Nashvillian, Seigenthaler rose through a star-studded Tennessean newsroom in the 1950s — one that included David Halberstam and Tom Wicker — to become the paper's editor in 1962, following a two-year stint working for Robert F. Kennedy in the Justice Department.
Under his leadership, The Tennessean gained a reputation for tough journalism, challenging the General Assembly's exclusion of reporters from public meetings. The newspaper's lawsuit successfully limited lawmakers' ability to conduct closed-door business.
He wrote unflinchingly from Vietnam in 1965 about the dangers of escalation:
DA NANG, May 18, 1965 — The cost of the U.S. struggle in Viet Nam is soaring — in terms of men, money and machines of war — and at this point, there is no quick, easy or cheap way out. Ten days ago, when I came to Viet Nam, 30,000 U.S. fighting men were in the country. There are now 42,000 here — with more reportedly on the way. Another 35,000 Navy men are stationed on ships offshore in the South China Sea.Now the number of American soldiers, sailors and Marines dead in Viet Nam has crept over 500 — five were slain in one attack yesterday — and many more will die in the days ahead. As the monsoon season comes in late May, American air strikes will be curtailed and the enemy — the Viet Cong — will become bolder. Then the U.S. casualty list certainly will increase.
The paper also exposed abuse in the city's mental hospital, investigated Metro Council members for corruption and infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.
He became publisher in 1973. In 1982, he added the responsibilities of editorial director for the newly launched, Gannett-owned USA Today, which had purchased The Tennessean the decade before.
In 1991, he retired from the paper and founded the First Amendment Center, now housed in a building which bears his name on the Vanderbilt campus.
In addition to his work with newspapers, Seigenthaler hosted A Word on Words, a program devoted to books and authors, for more than 40 years on public television.
He was a 1945 graduate of Father Ryan and served two years in the U.S. Air Force following World War II. He is survived by Dolores, his wife of 59 years, his son John Michael, daughter-in-law Kerry Brock and grandson Jack.
