GW’S Gelman Library Unveils Jack Anderson Collection
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist’s Collection Once Sought After By FBI Now Available To General Public
Sep 15, 2010
WASHINGTON – Cold-blooded politics, White House scandal and Washington conspiracy theory in the form of notes, correspondence and research from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jack Anderson are now housed at George Washington University’s Gelman Library. The Jack Anderson Collection, once sought after by the FBI, was publically released by two former aides of Mr. Anderson, GW Professor Mark Feldstein and Fox News Political Analyst Brit Hume and is now available to the general public.
"Mr. Anderson wanted people to gain an open understanding of government operations,” said Jack Siggins, university librarian. “He worked to expose undemocratic, or even unlawful, government actions against citizens. Mr. Anderson wanted these things out in the open, and I am pleased that Gelman Library can fulfill his wishes."
The Jack Anderson Collection, acquired by GW in 2005, represents the many facets of the journalist’s storied career from his earliest journalistic undertakings as a young reporter in Salt Lake City, Utah, to his newspaper, television and radio output throughout his career and his later charitable causes and personal work. The materials, which the FBI attempted to seize in 2006, were produced by Mr. Anderson during every stage of his writing process, from his reporter’s notes, correspondence and research materials gathered while working on a story to the draft and final articles he produced. The collection also documents Mr. Anderson’s work as a television and radio personality, author, frequent speaker, nonprofit leader and even occasional cartoonist.
Jack Anderson (1922-2005) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, author, television personality and columnist. From 1947 to 2004, Mr. Anderson reported on high-profile events and personalities in Washington. For more than 50 years he was the writer behind the syndicated column “Washington Merry-Go-Round.” He reported on high-profile events and personalities in Washington, breaking scandals and often raising the ire of bureaucrats to keep the government accountable. In 1972, Mr. Anderson received the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.
Mark Feldstein, a media and public affairs professor at GW and former intern for Mr. Anderson, was instrumental in bringing the collection to the library. In his soon-to-be released book, “Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington’s Scandal Culture,” Dr. Feldstein explores the journalist and his bitter feud with President Richard Nixon.
"Jack Anderson was a towering figure in the history of American journalism," said Dr. Feldstein. "He held the lonely banner of investigative reporting aloft in the mid-twentieth century when no other mainstream journalists dared challenge authorities the way he did. I am delighted that his work can now be shared with journalists, scholars, the public – and even the FBI."
Dr. Feldstein’s book recounts not only the disturbing story of a White House conspiracy within the Nixon White House to assassinate Mr. Anderson, but also the larger tale of the bitter quarter-century battle between the postwar era’s most embattled politician and its most reviled newsman. Their vendetta symbolized and accelerated the growing conflict between the government and the press, a clash that would long outlive both men. Dr. Feldstein traces the arc of this confrontation between a vindictive president and a flamboyant, crusading muckraker who rifled through garbage and swiped classified papers in pursuit of his prey - stoking the paranoia in President Nixon that would ultimately lead to his ruin. The White House plot to poison Mr. Anderson, Dr. Feldstein argues, is a metaphor for the poisoned political atmosphere that would follow, and the toxic sensationalism that contaminates contemporary media discourse.
The Jack Anderson Collection complements the Gelman Library’s Special Collections Research Center’s already substantial holdings highlighting Washington’s political, economic, social and cultural history. The library has become a gathering place for donors of major collections who entrust their holdings to Gelman's highly regarded Special Collections department. The George Washington University Libraries, which include the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library on the Foggy Bottom Campus, the Eckles Library at the Mount Vernon Campus and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus Library in Ashburn, Va., are a vital and dynamic resource for GW's campus community and lead the way in addressing the changing information needs of a world-class university.
For more information about the Jack Anderson Collection or The Gelman Library, visit: www.gelman.gwu.edu.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Emily Cain - 202-994-3087 - eecain@gwu.edu
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