Herb Klein (journalist)

Updated on Oct 24, 2023

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Name Herb Klein		Role Journalist

Died July 2, 2009, La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States Education Theodore Roosevelt High School, University of Southern California

Herbert George Klein (April 1, 1918 – July 2, 2009), also called Herb Klein, was best known as United States President Richard Nixon's Executive Branch Communications Director. Klein also served as Press Secretary for three of Nixon's campaigns and editor of the Copley Newspapers in San Diego before and after his time in the White House.

Family

Herbert was the son of George J. Klein and Amy Marie Cordes. He married Marjorie G. Galbraith in Long Beach, California on November 1, 1941. The couple had two daughters.

Klein died aged 91 on July 2, 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in La Jolla, California, according to reports from his family.

Education

Klein was a 1935 graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School (Los Angeles) and earned a B.A. in Journalism in 1940 from the University of Southern California, where he was a Sports Editor for the Daily Trojan.

Biography

1942–1946 – Officer in U.S. Navy

1946–1950 – News editor, Alhambra Post-Advocate and special correspondent for Copley Newspapers. The Copley Newspaper chain has been rumored to be associated with the Central Intelligence Agency since 1947.

1946 – Press agent for Richard M. Nixon's campaign for California's 12th congressional district seat

1948 – Press agent for Nixon's U.S. House of Representatives re-election campaign

1950 – Press agent for Nixon's California United States Senate seat campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas

1950–1968 – Features & Editorial writer, editorial page editor, associate editor, executive editor, and rose to Editor (1959–68) of the San Diego Union

1952 – Publicity director for the Dwight D. Eisenhower-Nixon California Presidential campaign

1956 – National Assistant press secretary for Nixon's vice-Presidential campaign

1960 – National Press secretary for Nixon's Presidential campaign

1962 – Press secretary for Nixon's campaign for Governor of California

1968 – National Communications Manager for Nixon's Presidential campaign

1969 – resigned July 1, 1973 – Communications Director for Executive Branch of Nixon Administration

1973–1977 – Vice President of Corporate Relations, Metromedia, Inc.

1977–1980 – Media consultant

1980– retired in 2003 – Editor-in-Chief, Copley Press

Memberships and awards

Klein was a National Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute and a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, serving on the board of directors from 1966 to 1968. Sigma Delta Chi officer, the national journalism society.

Publications

Klein authored the book Making It Perfectly Clear, an Inside Account of Nixon's Love-Hate Relationship with the Media, released by Doubleday in 1980, ISBN 0-385-14047-9.

Legacy

Klein was a Life Trustee of the University of Southern California, and in 2007, the university established the Herbert G. Klein Lecture Series. The series features lectures at USC and in San Diego. The first lecture, in April 2007, was by J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to China. The second, in San Diego, was by Tom Johnson, former Los Angeles Times publisher and CNN executive. The April 2008 lecture at USC was by Clark T. Randt, Jr., then U.S. Ambassador to China. Klein helped advise the university as it launched its influential U.S.-China Institute. Klein did much to support USC's efforts to become a global university.

References

Herb Klein (journalist) Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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