Jack Newfield
Encyclopedia
Jack Newfield was a muckraking journalist
, employed by The Village Voice
, the Daily News and the New York Post
. He covered the emergence of the New Left and the civil rights movement, and was a close friend of Robert F. Kennedy
.
with a degree in journalism in 1961. He was involved with SDS (Students for a Democratic Society
) at the time it was founded in 1962, and was active supporter of anti-war, New Left politics in the sixties. He went to work for The Village Voice in 1964. His book, A Prophetic Minority, published in 1966, provides an account of early sixties sit-ins and de-segregation movement, creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), involvement of white students in SNCC and voter registration
drives in Mississippi, and rise of SDS. Newfield continued writing for The Village Voice until 1988, penning some 700 articles for the newspaper during his 24 years on its staff as columnist, reporter and senior editor. He was a columnist at the Daily News from 1988 to 1990 and at the New York Post from 1991 to 2001.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
In January, 1969, Newfield published Robert Kennedy: A Memoir, considered by many to be the best book ever written about Robert Kennedy. Newfield's memoir was personal and passionate. While Newfield had a close relationship with Kennedy, he was tough-minded and determined to find the man within the myth—an unusual achievement for any Kennedy biographer. Newfield wrote:
He was an activist, in addition to being a journalist. He was with New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
when the latter was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan
in Los Angeles
, in June, 1968.
Aside from providing exposes (in his columns in the Post) of abuse of power by government officials and by businessmen, he wrote a number of books. His assessment of the mayoralty of Rudy Giuliani
, The Full Rudy won the American Book Award in 2003.
Newfield died in December 2004, from kidney
and lung cancer
.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, employed by The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, the Daily News and the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
. He covered the emergence of the New Left and the civil rights movement, and was a close friend of Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
.
Career in journalism
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Newfield attended Boys High School and graduated from Hunter CollegeHunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
with a degree in journalism in 1961. He was involved with SDS (Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
) at the time it was founded in 1962, and was active supporter of anti-war, New Left politics in the sixties. He went to work for The Village Voice in 1964. His book, A Prophetic Minority, published in 1966, provides an account of early sixties sit-ins and de-segregation movement, creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
(SNCC), involvement of white students in SNCC and voter registration
Voter registration
Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.-Centralized/compulsory vs...
drives in Mississippi, and rise of SDS. Newfield continued writing for The Village Voice until 1988, penning some 700 articles for the newspaper during his 24 years on its staff as columnist, reporter and senior editor. He was a columnist at the Daily News from 1988 to 1990 and at the New York Post from 1991 to 2001.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
In January, 1969, Newfield published Robert Kennedy: A Memoir, considered by many to be the best book ever written about Robert Kennedy. Newfield's memoir was personal and passionate. While Newfield had a close relationship with Kennedy, he was tough-minded and determined to find the man within the myth—an unusual achievement for any Kennedy biographer. Newfield wrote:
(Robert Kennedy) was not ruthless, or an excessively ambitious politician, but a conflicted, vulnerable man, impatient with the small contrivances of politics. And he was not a divisive, unpopular figure, but rather a healing force. The root of my argument is that Robert Kennedy was the one politician of his time who might have united the black and white poor into a new majority for change -- an American liberalism hardly noticed.In 1988, Newfield was writer, reporter, and co-producer of the acclaimed Discovery Network documentary, Robert Kennedy.
He was an activist, in addition to being a journalist. He was with New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
when the latter was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is a Jordanian citizen who was convicted for the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He is serving a life sentence at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California.Sirhan was a Christian Arab born in Jerusalem who strongly opposed Israel...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, in June, 1968.
Aside from providing exposes (in his columns in the Post) of abuse of power by government officials and by businessmen, he wrote a number of books. His assessment of the mayoralty of Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, The Full Rudy won the American Book Award in 2003.
Newfield died in December 2004, from kidney
Kidney cancer
Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the cells in the kidney.The two most common types of kidney cancer are renal cell carcinoma and urothelial cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis...
and lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Selected bibliography
- A Prophetic Minority. New York: New American Library, 1966. Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 66-26050
- Bread and Roses Too: Reporting About America. E.P. Dutton & Co., 1971. LOC No. 73-148476
- The Big Apple: City for Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York. Harper and Row, 1988. ISBN 0-06-091662-1 [with Wayne BarrettWayne BarrettWayne Barrett is an American journalist. He was an investigative reporter and senior editor for the Village Voice for over 20 years. He is currently a fellow with the Nation Institute and contributor to Newsweek....
] - Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King [on Don King]. William Morrow & Co., 1995. ISBN 0688101232, ISBN 978-0688101237
- The Full Rudy: The Man, the Myth, the Mania [on Rudy GiulianiRudy GiulianiRudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
]. Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003. ISBN 1-56025-482-3