Robert Boyd

Robert Skinner Boyd (January 11, 1928 – September 20, 2019) was an American journalist who spent most of his career working for the Knight Newspaper Group, spending two decades as the group's Washington bureau chief. He and Clark Hoyt won a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for uncovering the fact that Senator Thomas Eagleton, George McGovern's choice for vice president, had had severe psychiatric problems and undergone three shock treatments. Instead of publishing their scoop, they disclosed their findings to McGovern's top advisor, and Eagleton withdrew as the Democratic nominee.

Early career and education Born in Chicago, Boyd was the son of Alden W. Boyd and Mary A. (Skinner) Boyd. Raised as an Episcopalian, he earned a B.A. and M.A. from Harvard University in 1949. At Harvard, he studied ancient languages.

Career After serving in the U.S. Army in 1946–1947 and as a staff member in the U.S. State Department in 1950–1953, Boyd worked as a reporter for the Lafayette Louisiana Daily Advertiser between 1953–1954 and as state editor for the Benton Harbor, Michigan News-Palladium in 1954–1957.

He then joined the Detroit Free Press/Knight Newspaper Group, working as a reporter in 1957–1960, as a correspondent in the group's Washington, D.C. office in 1960–1967, as the chief of that bureau in 1967–1987, and as its chief Washington correspondent beginning in 1987.

During his 20 years in charge of the Washington bureau, "Boyd presided over an expansion in which the D.C. team grew from a staff of seven to more than 50." Knight colleague James McCartney said Boyd "was the antithesis of the sort of ego-driven Washington bureau chief who stepped all over his reporters....He was the best editor I ever had." The Washington Post reporter David Broder described Boyd as one of the most honest and fair reporters in Washington. "He's totally independent," Broder said. "I have no idea what his politics may be, and I've known him for 30 years."

Works Boyd and David Kraslow collaborated on a novel, A Certain Little Evil, published in 1964.

Personal life He married Gloria L. Paulsen in 1949, and they had four children (Tim, Suzy, Peter and Andy). Boyd died from congestive heart failure at a nursing home in Philadelphia on September 20, 2019.