Thomas "Tom" Oliphant is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 journalist

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...

 who was the Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 correspondent and a columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

 for the Boston Globe.

Life and career

Oliphant was born in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. He graduated from La Jolla High School

La Jolla High School

La Jolla, CA 92037 Enrollment 1,650 Colors Black & Red██ Mascot Viking Rival Schools The Bishop's School, Cathedral Catholic High School, Mission Bay High School, University City High School Homepage...

 in California and in 1967 from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

.

In 1968 he joined the Boston Globe. During his career with the newspaper, he served as its Washington correspondent

Correspondent

A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...

 and reported on ten Presidential campaigns. He was one of three editors who managed The Globes coverage of school desegregation in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, work which won a 1975 Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

. He also received a writing award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors

American Society of Newspaper Editors

The American Society of News Editors is a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of media-related foundations and training organizations...

.

In March 2005, Oliphant suffered a brain aneurysm. His account of the experience and his recovery appeared in The Globe on June 5, 2005, At the end of 2005, he was one of 32 Globe staff members who accepted a retirement

Retirement

Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...

 buyout package from the New York Times Company

The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company is an American media company best known as the publisher of its namesake, The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. has served as Chairman of the Board since 1997. It is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City....

, owner of The Globe.

Oliphant has been a frequent guest on television news programs, including Nightline on ABC-TV

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...

 on PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

, Face The Nation

Face the Nation

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...

, the Today show, Good Morning America

Good Morning America

Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

 and CBS This Morning. His last appearance on Jim Lehrer

Jim Lehrer

James Charles "Jim" Lehrer is an American journalist and the executive editor and former news anchor for PBS NewsHour on PBS, known for his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections...

's program was on Wednesday, August 26, 2009, when he discussed the legacy of Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...

. Oliphant was also a regular guest on The Al Franken Show

The Al Franken Show

The Al Franken Show was the flagship talk show of the former talk radio network, Air America Radio. Hosted by Al Franken, it featured commentary and interviews arguing for left-wing positions on the issues of the day, and comically poking fun at the George W. Bush Administration. The show began as...

, where he also appeared as a guest host in August 2006.

Oliphant is married to CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 reporter Susan Spencer

Susan Spencer

Susan Spencer is an American television news reporter and correspondent for 48 Hours Mystery.Spencer was born in Memphis, Tennesseee. She graduated from Michigan State University in 1968 with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism. The following year, Spencer completed her Master's in...

.

Don Imus controversy

In April 2007, Oliphant became involved in controversy arising from some vulgar remarks that talk radio

Talk radio

Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

 host Don Imus

Don Imus

John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...

 made regarding African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 players on the Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

 women's basketball

Women's basketball

Women's basketball is one of the few women's sports that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast , in large part via women's colleges...

 team. On April 9, 2007, Oliphant was a guest on the Imus' morning radio show in the midst of the developing controversy. Imus had apologized for his comment before that show, and Oliphant explained his decision to appear on the show to the New York Times, saying "He said he screwed up and he was sorry." On that evening's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Oliphant was critical of Imus' remarks, calling them "inexcusably horrible", but said "I don't think he should be fired."

Mr. Oliphant, after declaring solidarity with Mr. Imus, announced that he would no longer appear on T.V. or Radio until Mr. Imus is reinstated to both his radio show and the MSNBC simulcast.

Books

• (co-author) All by Myself: The Unmaking of a Presidential Campaign (1989) ISBN 0-87106-547-9
• Praying for Gil Hodges : A Memoir of the 1955 World Series and One Family's Love of the Brooklyn Dodgers (2005) ISBN 0-312-31761-1

External links

• Articles and columns written by Thomas Oliphant through December 2005 are available for a fee on the Boston Globe website.
• The Kerry I Know