Jack Germond

Jack Germond
File:Jack Germond Washington Post.jpg
Born	Jack Worthen Germond (1928-01-30)January 30, 1928 Boston, Massachusetts
Died	August 14, 2013(2013-08-14) (aged 85) Charles Town, West Virginia
Nationality	USA
Occupation(s)	Journalist and author
Known for	Panelist on The McLaughlin Group

John Worthen Germond (January 30, 1928 – August 14, 2013) was an American journalist, author, and pundit. His journalistic career spanned over 50 years; Germond wrote for the Washington Star and The Baltimore Sun. Together with Jules Witcover, Germond co-wrote "Politics Today," a five-day-a-week syndicated column, for more than 24 years.

Early years

Germond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, an only child, and raised in a middle-class household in Boston and Trenton, New Jersey. When he was 13, his family moved to Mississippi, and then to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Germond finished high school. After attending Louisiana State University for one semester, he served in the U.S. Army in 1946–47, returning to college on the GI bill and then graduating from the University of Missouri with degrees in journalism and history.

Career

He began his career working for Gannett's Rochester Times-Union in 1961. He moved to the Washington Star in 1974, became a syndicated columnist and national editor, and went on to The Baltimore Sun when the Star folded. He began to appear on Meet the Press in 1972, the Today Show in 1980, and the NBC and PBS program The McLaughlin Group from its inception in 1981.

A fixture on The McLaughlin Group for 15 years before abruptly resigning, he later appeared on CNN, and appeared for a time on the PBS program Inside Washington. In 2011 he wrote several pieces on the 2012 Presidential election for The Daily Beast, an online-only publication.

Personal life

Germond and his first wife, Barbara Wipple–a fellow student at the University of Missouri–were married shortly after he graduated in 1951. They had two daughters, Mandy and Jessica.

In 1984, Germond met Democratic party operative and political activist Alice Travis. Germond and Barbara subsequently divorced, and Germond married Travis in 1988. She had two children from a prior marriage, musician Abby Travis and film maker Dave Travis, and is the Secretary Emeritus of the Democratic National Committee.

Illness and death

Germond died at his home on August 14, 2013, aged 85.

Bibliography

With Witcover

• Blue Smoke & Mirrors: How Reagan Won and Why Carter Lost the Election of 1980, Viking Press (1981)
• Jack W. Germond; Jules Witcover (1985). Wake Us When It's Over: Presidential Politics of 1984. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-02-630710-9. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
• Whose Broad Stripes and Bright Stars? The Trivial Pursuit of the Presidency 1988, Warner Books (1989)
• Mad As Hell: Revolt at the Ballot Box 1992, Warner Books (1992)

Solo

• Fat man in a middle seat: forty years of covering politics. Random House. January 8, 2002. ISBN 978-0-375-75867-6. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
• Fat Man Fed Up: How American Politics Went Bad. Random House Trade Paperbacks. 2005. ISBN 978-0-8129-7092-0. Retrieved August 25, 2013.

References

Specific citations

General references

• Biography from the Biographical Dictionary of American Newspaper Columnists

External links

• Jack Germond at IMDb
• Official Random House list of his books
• Germond, Jack. "A Cold, Hard Look", Washingtonian, January 1, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
• Germond, Jack. "A Look at Presidential Contender Gaffes", Washingtonian, September 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
• Booknotes interview with Germond and Witcover on Whose Broad Stripes and Bright Stars?, August 27, 1989.