Albert Merriman Smith

Albert Merriman Smith (February 10, 1913 – April 13, 1970) was an American wire service reporter, notably serving as White House correspondent for United Press International and its predecessor, United Press. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1964 for his coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 by Lyndon B. Johnson.

Background

Albert Merriman Smith was born on February 10, 1913, in Savannah, Georgia.

Career

Known by his middle name (and his nickname, "Smitty"), Smith covered US presidents from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Richard Nixon and originated the practice of closing presidential news conferences with "Thank You, Mr. President," which was the title of his 1946 book, written during his coverage of the Harry Truman administration.

On November 22, 1963, Smith was the main UPI reporter in Dallas for John F. Kennedy's visit. He traveled in the motorcade in the White House Pool car, which had a radiotelephone. When the shots were fired, Smith grabbed the phone and called the UPI office. He stayed on the phone while Jack Bell, the AP reporter in the car, started punching Smith and yelling at him to hand the phone over. He was the first to publicly use the term "grassy knoll" regarding the assassination.

In the 1960s, Smith was a frequent guest on television interview programs hosted by Jack Paar and Merv Griffin. Smith was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson in 1969. Although he never served in the military himself, his grave is in Section 32 of Arlington National Cemetery next to his son's, by special permission of the Commanding General of the Military District of Washington.

At the end of the President's press conference of May 8, 1970, concentrating on the Kent State shootings and his decision to expand the war into Cambodia, Nixon called on the White House press corps to stand in Smith's remembrance.

Merriman Smith Memorial Award

In 1970, the White House Correspondents' Association established The Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage under deadline pressure. His name was removed from the award in 2022 because of his support of excluding Black and female journalists from membership in the National Press Club and from attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Works

Thank You, Mr. President: A White House Notebook (1946, 1976 ) Danke sehr, Herr Präsident! Notizbuch aus dem Weissen Haus (1948) President is Many Men (1948) Meet Mister Eisenhower (1955) President's Odyssey (1961, 1975 ) Good New Days (1962) News Media – A Service and a Force (1970) Merriman Smith's Book of Presidents: A White House Memoir (1972)