Joseph Ungaro
Encyclopedia
Joseph M. Ungaro was a journalist most famous for his question to President Richard Nixon
which elicited the reply "I am not a crook."
and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
.
In 1950 he began working for The Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin first as a copy boy, and then as a reporter, managing editor, and publisher.
Managing Editors convention in Orlando, Florida
,
Ungaro asked Nixon about his reported underpayment of income taxes in 1970 and 1971. Nixon’s famous declaration came after he answered a subsequent question about the Watergate scandal
, posed by then president of the association Dick Smyser of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
's The Oak Ridger. At the end of that reply, Nixon doubled back to Ungaro’s question, saying: "I welcome this kind of examination because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook."
Nixon later agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
's Westchester Rockland Newspapers in 1974 as managing editor. He later became vice president and executive editor, vice president and general manager, and then president and publisher. He was given the additional responsibilities as vice president of the Metro Newspaper Division.
He later became president and chief executive of the Detroit Newspaper Agency
, the company that managed a joint operating agreement between The Detroit News
and Detroit Free Press
.
Ungaro's final position was at Stars and Stripes
, where he put together a consolidation plan for the newspaper and then became its ombudsman
.
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
which elicited the reply "I am not a crook."
Early career
Ungaro graduated from Providence CollegeProvidence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
.
In 1950 he began working for The Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin first as a copy boy, and then as a reporter, managing editor, and publisher.
The Question
On November 17, 1973, at the annual Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Managing Editors convention in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
,
Ungaro asked Nixon about his reported underpayment of income taxes in 1970 and 1971. Nixon’s famous declaration came after he answered a subsequent question about the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
, posed by then president of the association Dick Smyser of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
's The Oak Ridger. At the end of that reply, Nixon doubled back to Ungaro’s question, saying: "I welcome this kind of examination because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook."
Nixon later agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
Later career
Ungaro left the Evening Bulletin later that year and began working at Gannett CompanyGannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
's Westchester Rockland Newspapers in 1974 as managing editor. He later became vice president and executive editor, vice president and general manager, and then president and publisher. He was given the additional responsibilities as vice president of the Metro Newspaper Division.
He later became president and chief executive of the Detroit Newspaper Agency
Detroit Newspaper Agency
Detroit Media Partnership, L.P. manages the business operations - including production, advertising and circulation - for the two leading Detroit newspapers: the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press...
, the company that managed a joint operating agreement between The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
and Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
.
Ungaro's final position was at Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
, where he put together a consolidation plan for the newspaper and then became its ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
.
Sources
- Joseph Ungaro, former Journal News publisher, dies at 76 The Journal News 14 November 2006.
- Joseph Ungaro, 76, News Executive Who Elicited Nixon’s ‘Not a Crook’ Line, Dies New York Times 14 November 2006.