James Polk (journalist)
James Polk | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Ray Polk September 12, 1937 Oaktown, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | July 15, 2021 (aged 83) Marietta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | Indiana University Bloomington |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1962–2021 |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize (1974) Raymond Clapper Memorial Award (1971, 1973) |
James Ray Polk (September 12, 1937 – July 15, 2021) was an American journalist, known for his investigative reporting and coverage of American political corruption and fraud. Over the course of his career, he covered the Raymond Donovan investigations, the Bert Lance controversy, the Abscam scandal, and the financial dealings of John Zaccaro, husband of 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro.
In 1971[1] and 1973, Polk won the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award for his Washington reporting for the now-defunct Washington, DC, newspaper The Washington Star.[2] In 1974, he won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his coverage of the Watergate scandal for the Star.[3][4]
Biography
[edit]Polk was born in Oaktown, Indiana in 1937,[5] and at the age of eight he wrote about sports for the local paper, the Oaktown Press. After three years in the United States Navy, he attended Indiana University Bloomington where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi and received his bachelor's degree in government in 1964. He worked as a political staff writer for the Bloomington-based Herald-Telephone, and received the American Political Science Award. He moved to the Associated Press in 1962, and later joined the Washington Star in 1971.[6]
Polk covered the Watergate scandal extensively and received the Pulitzer Prize for his reportage in 1974.[7] The following year, he joined NBC News and covered political corruption and crimes. His most famous stories include Abscam, the racketeering case against Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, and the Iran-Contra affair. Polk left NBC in 1992 and joined CNN as a senior documentary producer. He died at his home in Marietta, Georgia, on July 15, 2021, at the age of 83.[5][8]
References
[edit]- ^ "3 Journalism Awards Are Won by Reporters". The New York Times. May 1, 1972.
James R. Polk won the $1,000 Raymond Clapper Memorial Award for a series on concealing campaign contributions that appeared in The Evening Star of Washington.
- ^ Journalism Institute. "Raymond Clapper Memorial Award winners (1944 to 2011)". National Press Club. Retrieved Nov 15, 2023.
- ^ Journalism, Indiana University. "Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame". mediaschool.indiana.edu.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Who's Who in America, 1982-1983 Volume 2 (42nd ed.). Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1982. p. 2678. ISBN 0837901421.
- ^ a b "James Ray Polk Obituary - Oaktown, Indiana". Fredrick and Son McClure-Utt Funeral Homes and Crematory. Retrieved July 18, 2021 – via Tribute Archive.
- ^ "Honoree: Search Awards: University Honors & Awards: Indiana University". honorsandawards.iu.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
- ^ "Pulitzers Given for Reporting on Vesco and Nixon Tax; No Play or Novel Cited." The New York Times, May 7, 1974.
- ^ "Longtime IRE leader and investigative journalist dies at 83". Investigative Reporters and Editors. 18 July 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
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