Vermont C. Royster
Vermont Connecticut Royster (April 30, 1914 – July 22, 1996) was the editor of the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal from 1958 to 1971. He was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He won two Pulitzer Prizes for his writing, and numerous other awards. Royster was famed for providing a conservative interpretation of the news every day, especially regarding economic issues.[1]
Early life
Although his life began and ended in
Royster was a 1935 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During his time at UNC he was a member of the Philanthropic Society and served as the editor of the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel.
Career
Soon after graduating from UNC, Royster moved to New York City and secured a job as a reporter for the New York City News Bureau, and a year later began his 61-year career with The Wall Street Journal. His career at Journal was one of steady advancement: reporter, 1936; Washington correspondent, 1936–40 and from UNC 1945–46; editorial writer and columnist, 1946–48; associate editor, 1948–51; senior associate editor, 1951–58; editor, 1958–71; contributing editor, columnist, 1971–96; editor emeritus, 1993-96.
In 1940 Royster joined the
In 1953 Royster was awarded a
After his retirement from the Journal, he became the Kenan Professor of Journalism and Public Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Honors
When he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, the citation read:
- For over half a century, as a journalist, author, and teacher, Vermont Royster illuminated the political and economic life of our times. His common sense exploded the pretensions of "expert opinion," and his compelling eloquence warned of the evils of society loosed from its moorings in faith. The voice of the American people can be heard in his prose—honest, open, proud, and free.
Other awards he received include Distinguished Service Award, Sigma Delta Chi, 1958; William Allen White Award, University of Kansas, 1971; the 1975 Gerald Loeb Memorial Award for excellence in business and financial reporting;[2] Elijah Lovejoy Award 1976; North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame, 1980.
In 1976, Royster received the
Several of the editorials he wrote are considered classics: "The Desolate Wilderness" and "And the Fair Land" are now The Wall Street Journal's traditional Thanksgiving editorials, and "In Hoc Anno Domini" appears every Christmas.
Personal life
Royster married Frances Claypoole in 1937, and the couple had two daughters, Francis and Eleanor. He died on July 22, 1996, and she followed two years later on April 23, 1998, both in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was 82, and she was 83.
He is a cousin, through the Roysters, of Kay Kyser, a popular bandleader in the 1930s and 1940s.
Bibliography
- Royster, Vermont C. (1962). Journey through the Soviet Union. New York: Dow Jones. OCLC 2809888.
- Royster, Vermont C. (1967). A Pride of Prejudices. New York: Knopf. OCLC 369163.
- Royster, Vermont C. (1983). My own, My country's time : a journalist's journey. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books. )
- Fuller, Edmund (1985). The essential Royster : a Vermont Royster reader. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books. OCLC 11728333.
Notes
- ^ Richard Vetter, "Wall Street Journal," in Bruce Frohnen, ed. American Conservatism (2006) pp. 898–99
- The Raleigh Register. Vol. 96, no. 80 (afternoon ed.). United Press International. September 24, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved February 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
References
- Papers of Vermont Royster at University of North Carolina
- Vermont Connecticut Royster Papers at Syracuse University
- Short Summary and Photo
- Essay by Jennifer Cook
External links
- A film clip "The Open Mind - A Servant of History, Part I (1986)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- A film clip "The Open Mind - A Servant of History, Part II (1986)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- Appearances on C-SPAN