God and the Editor

by Phelps, Robert H.

• ISBN13: 9780815609148
• ISBN10: 0815609140
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-01
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr

Summary

For nearly twenty years Robert H. Phelps ran interference for, cheered on, and sometimes scolded star reporters and top editors at the New York Times. Starting his editing career at the desk of the Providence Journal-Bulletin, Phelps joined the New York Times as a copy editor, eventually serving as the Times news editor for the Washington bureau. Along the way he struggled with balancing his moral ideals and his personal ambition. In this compelling memoir, Phelps interweaves his personal and professional experiences with some of the most powerful stories of the era. With candor and keen observation, Phelps chronicles both the triumphant and the tragic events at the Times. He explains the missed lessons of the Pentagon Papers, why the Times played catchup with the Washington Post on the Watergate scandal but eventually surpassed it on covering that seminal story, and how the Times failed to report a key element of the riots at the 1968 Democratic convention. Phelps offers mixed appraisals of such luminaries as A. M. Rosenthal, James B. Reston, E. Clifton Daniel, and Max Frankel, and expresses great admiration for Seymour Hersh, Neil Sheehan, and Bill Beecher, three unlikely scoop artists. As Phelps settled in at the New York Times, journalism became the religion he had searched for since his adolescence. Over his tenure of nearly two decades, however, Phelps found that journalism¿s stark emphasis on fact was insufficient to address many of life¿s dilemmas and failed to provide the sustaining guidance he envied in his wife¿s Catholic faith.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
From Jesus to Journalism
The Bible (Somewhat Revised) Told Me Who I Was	p. 3
Sex, Pacifism, and the Cub Reporter	p. 15
Okinawa 1: Kamikazes-An African American Hero	p. 30
Okinawa 2: A Caine Mutiny Story	p. 43
Living It Up in Japan, Korea, and China	p. 51
Two Loves: Betty and Editing	p. 66
The New York Times
Early Success: A Substitute for Religion	p. 89
Harrison Salisbury: A Flawed Role Model	p. 110
On to Washington: Gradual Acceptance	p. 124
The Times Civil War: My First Setback	p. 136
Losing a Big Beat on the Vietnam War	p. 148
The Pentagon Papers: Never Trust the Government	p. 157
Watergate 1: How the Post Beat the Times	p. 166
Watergate 2: How the Times Beat the Post	p. 182
Imperial Editor-Or Partner Editor?	p. 200
Clifton Daniel: Luring Sally Quinn	p. 212
The Boston Globe
Boston Globe Offer: Quitting the Times	p. 221
School Integration: Pulitzer Gold Medal	p. 231
End of Journalism: Transcendence-A Love Story	p. 252
Notes	p. 269
Index	p. 275
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