Ben Bagdikian

Personal life Background Ben-Hur Haig Bagdikian,

Bagdikian was known throughout his life as Ben, though his baptismal name was Ben-Hur, after the Christian-themed historical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace. Having taken many chemistry courses he sought to apply for a job as a chemist upon graduating from Clark in 1941. A memorial service was held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley on June 2, 2016.

Career Throughout his career, Bagdikian contributed to more than 200 national magazines and journals. In the fall of that year he traveled to the South with black reporter James "Jim" N. Rhea

The Washington Post Bagdikian joined The Washington Post in 1970 and later served as its assistant managing editor and in 1972 its second ombudsman as a representative of the readers. passed him 4,000 pages of the Pentagon Papers, excerpts from which were published by The New York Times days earlier and halted by a federal judge. in front of the Mayflower Hotel. The first part was published by the Post on June 18, 1971. William Rehnquist phoned Post executive editor Bradlee and threatened him with prosecution if the publication of the documents was not stopped. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court decided 6–3 that "to exercise prior restraint, the Government must show sufficient evidence that the publication would cause a 'grave and irreparable' danger." He reported "widespread racial tension behind bars, outbursts of violence, open 'homosexualism' and an elaborate, yet fragile, code of etiquette." Bagdikian and Post reporter Leon Dash published the series first as a report in 1972 and later as a book (1976).

UC Berkeley Bagdikian wrote for the Columbia Journalism Review from 1972 to 1974. He was the dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism from 1985 to 1988.

Media criticism

Michael Moore has named The Media Monopoly the most influential book he ever read. Robert W. McChesney, who cites Bagdikian as one of the strongest influences on him, called Bagdikian one of the finest journalists of the 20th century. McChesney argued that Bagdikian was "certainly accorded more respect by working journalists" than Herman and Chomsky, the authors of Manufacturing Consent, due to their perceived radicalism, in contrast to Bagdikian's liberal views. Progressive journalist and writer John Nichols, writing for The Nation, called Bagdikian a "pioneering media reformer."

Awards and honors Peabody Award (1950) Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, Edition Time (staff contributor; 1953) Hillman Prize (1956) for his series on civil liberties Guggenheim Fellowship (1961) James Madison Award (1998) Clark University (Doctor of Letters, 1963), He was the commencement speaker of the 1972 Journalism Convocation of Northwestern University.

The fellowship program of the progressive magazine Mother Jones is named for Bagdikian due to his "professional record, his personal integrity, and his commitment to social justice."

Bagdikian was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame on October 30, 2016. According to the board he had "long and significant ties to Rhode Island."