| Notes |
- Obit from findagrave.com:
Chicago Tribune
Illinois
December 18, 2007
Douglas Kneeland: 1929 - 2007 Tribune's first public editor Veteran of New York Times was noted for writing style, relaxed personality
Douglas Kneeland came to the Chicago Tribune in 1981 after 22 years at The New York Times, part of new Editor Jim Squires' effort to jolt the newspaper with fresh talent.
Squires knew his high-profile recruits would be eyed warily, and he tapped Mr. Kneeland for his genial personality as much as his highly regarded writing and editing skills.
"He never acted like he was from The New York Times. He acted like he was from the Maine Times, and that made all the difference in the world," Squires said. "I don't think I made a major decision, good or bad, that I didn't have Doug Kneeland's advice."
Hired to oversee foreign and national news at the Tribune and later the paper's first public editor, Mr. Kneeland, 78, died of lung cancer on Saturday, Dec. 15, in a Lincoln, Maine., hospital, said his wife, Barbara. He returned to Lincoln, his boyhood home, following his retirement from the Tribune in 1993.
Mr. Kneeland moved from national/foreign editor to associate managing editor before becoming a writer and editor for the Tribune's editorial pages in 1987. Reporters calling in from datelines near and far found him to be a compassionate editor with a strong Maine accent and a relaxed demeanor.
"He was a guy who had been out [on the road] himself, and he knew the problems of being a correspondent," said retired Tribune editor Howard Tyner. "He was terrific at giving advice and helping you through various situations."
Mr. Kneeland was "never ruffled as deadlines approached," and "always found time to mentor young reporters struggling with their stories," said Tribune reporter John Crewdson.
In 1990, Mr. Kneeland was named the Tribune's public editor. He would be responsible for "seeing to it that legitimate complaints about the newspaper's behavior are heard and redressed, that errors of fact and taste are aggressively corrected," then-Tribune Editor Jack Fuller said in a story announcing the creation of Mr. Kneeland's job.
Among the more public issues he took on was the long-running "Injun Summer" cartoon by John T. McCutcheon, which some readers found offensive. More often, he dealt with the day-to-day ethical issues faced by reporters and editors, some of whom were still throwbacks to the days when it wasn't unusual to impersonate a police officer to get a story.
"Doug's great strength was his real concern for journalistic integrity. He really brought that value to a paper where it was, in some quarters, lacking," said former Tribune Managing Editor F. Richard Ciccone. "Doug really had a far more pious approach to journalism than previously was practiced here at the Tribune. He was very clear-headed when it came to sticky ethical problems."
Mr. Kneeland wanted to be a reporter from a young age while growing up in Lincoln, a town 50 miles north of Bangor. "When he was in school, his teachers just thought he was a great writer," his wife said.
Following his graduation from the University of Maine, he worked at newspapers in Bangor; Worcester, Mass.; and Lorain, Ohio, before landing a job at The Times in 1959.
At The Times, Mr. Kneeland covered several presidential campaigns and was a national and foreign editor. He was a national correspondent based in Kansas City, Mo., and California, and was Midwest bureau chief in Chicago.
Remembered by Squires as "a lovely and graceful writer," Mr. Kneeland wrote stories for The Times on topics ranging from roller coasters to drive-in theaters, the disappearance of mom-and-pop motels to the difficulties faced by returning Vietnam POWs.
In "The Boys on the Bus," Timothy Crouse's book on reporters covering the 1972 presidential campaign, Mr. Kneeland makes an argument on behalf of journalistic integrity and the good intentions of most reporters.
"You see, we're idealists," he told Crouse.
In retirement, Mr. Kneeland taught journalism and served on the alumni committee at the University of Maine. He also wrote editorials and a human interest column for his hometown paper, the Lincoln News, and was active with the Maine Press Association.
Mr. Kneeland's first wife, Anne, died in 1989.
In addition to his second wife, he is also survived by two sons, Bruce and Wayne; two daughters, Debra Wentz and Libby Williams; a sister, Pamela Greene; and five grandchildren.
Services are planned for the spring.
|
1929 - 2007 (78 years)