Max Jordan

Max Arthur Jordan (later Father Placid Jordan) (April 21, 1895 - November 28, 1977) was a German-American foreign correspondent for the International News Service and pioneering radio journalist for the NBC network in Europe in the 1930s.

Early life and education Jordan was born in Sanremo, Italy, to German parents of Württembergian origin, Jordan's family lineage included both French and Austrian ancestry. His father, a chemist, secured his first employment in Florence after completing his studies. The family subsequently settled in Italy, purchasing a pharmacy in Sanremo with the assistance of Jordan's mother Thekla's dowry.

Jordan's father later worked with Eastman Kodak, establishing branches for the company in various Italian and Swiss cities. This led to frequent travel within Italy for the family, with occasional visits to relatives in Stuttgart, Germany. As a result of attending schools in multiple countries, Jordan became fluent in French, German, and Italian. During his university years earlier, Jordan made several contributions to the publication. He felt a great sense of pride working under the leadership of Theodor Wolff. His editorials and news appeared under the byline "M. J.".

Jordan secured his first major story for the Berliner Tageblatt by conducting an exclusive interview with Georgy Chicherin, the Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, in April 1922. Learning of Chicherin's arrival in Berlin ahead of the diplomatic Genoa Conference, Jordan contacted all luxury hotels in the city and located him at the Esplanade Hotel. The interview, granted by Chicherin, marked the first time the Soviet official publicly revealed the Soviet government's plan to end its diplomatic isolation and assert its right to participate in international affairs. Jordan's report was published the following day, April 2, on the front page of the Berliner Tageblatt.

Hearst news agencies

In the 1920s Jordan worked for William Randolph Hearst's news agencies in Germany and United States. One of his first assignments for the Universal Service was to cover and report from the Ludendorff-Hitler putsch trial in February and March 1924 from Munich.

Max Jordan interviewing Hindenburg Captain Ernst Lehmann for the NBC after the airship's first arrival in the U.S. in 1936.

United States

In the spring of 1924, Jordan accepted an offer to relocate from Berlin to New York to coordinate the European news service for the International News Service, arriving in May of that year. Later that autumn, during a visit to Washington, he unexpectedly secured a private meeting with President Calvin Coolidge at the White House, during which he was granted thirty minutes for private discussion. Jordan noted that Washington's green spaces reminded him of European cities, and he preferred the city's tranquility to New York's bustling atmosphere. Consequently, he moved to Washington to serve as a correspondent while leaving his work with the Hearst outlets and rejoining his former employer, Berliner Tageblatt, as their Washington correspondent.

NBC

He covered many important stories (and had many scoops) in the 1930s, when the medium of radio was still relatively new. Jordan's first report for NBC was on a 1931 speech by German President Paul von Hindenburg. Subsequently, in 1931 he was hired by NBC to represent their radio service in Europe.

Radio broadcasts

Jordan also reported on the first Atlantic flight of the Hindenburg in 1936,