As hundreds of alumni young and old return to campus this week to celebrate their time at Choate, another celebration is about to commence: the 100th anniversary of The Choate News, or in its most modern form, simply The News.
An institution woven in the fabric of Choate Rosemary Hall since Headmaster George St. Johns earliest days, The News will publish its 100th volume in the fall. In celebration, a News reunion is planned for Reunion Weekend 2007, an event that we hope will reunite both News alumni as well as Choate alumni in the media and journalism at an afternoon symposium with journalism heavyweights followed by a banquet reception and keynote address.
Befitting such a celebration is a centurys worth of journalistic achievement, spanning over 1,500 issues and 10,000 newspaper pages home to over 20 million words of original, student-produced reporting. News alumni have gone on to write for and edit some of the finest publications in the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker.
Among such distinguished journalists are the late John Finney 42, a 30-year reporter and editor in the Times Washington Bureau and Managing Editor of The News; Lee Hockstader 77, President of The News and now a member of the editorial board of The Washington Post; Philip D. Gourevitch 79, the Editorial Page Editor of The News, New Yorker columnist, and editor of the Paris Quarterly; Geoffrey Cowan 60, Dean of the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Managing Editor of The News; Judson D. Hale 51, Advertising Manager of The News and Editor-in-Chief of Yankee Magazine; and Daniel T. Keating 80, Sports Editor of The News and now an editor at The Washington Post, where he was part of an investigative reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999.
Outside of the editorial board, many News staffers have flourished in their post-Choate careers: former News reporters include James S. Berrien 70, President and Publisher of Forbes Magazine; Peter B. Richmond 71, a GQ columnist and author; and James Surowiecki 84, a News senior writer, New Yorker columnist, and author.
And scores of News alumni have made names for themselves, though in areas other than journalism. Adlai Stevenson 18 was Business Manager for The News, while Paul Giamatti 85 was Creative Consultant, a masthead-level position. Many News writers and editors have given back to Choate as well; former Chairman of the Board Cary Neiman 65 was President of The News, while former Trustee and current Associate Attorney General of The United States Robert McCallum 65 was his managing editor. Life Trustees Bruce S. Gelb 45 and Edwin A. Goodwin 58, along with current Trustees Michael Carr 76 and Thomas M. Viertel 59, also served on the News masthead.
And as we celebrate the centennial of The News, we also recognize the accomplishments of Choate alumni who did not embrace journalism until after graduating from Choate but have nonetheless thrived. They include John M. Arthur 66, Assistant Managing Editor of The Los Angeles Times, where he has shared two Pulitzer Prizes; John Lancaster 76, the South Asia Bureau Chief of The Washington Post; Arthur S. Brisbane 68, former Publisher of The Kansas City Star; Marian F. Burros RH54, food critic for the New York Times; Gretchen Teichgraeber RH71, CEO of Scientific-American Magazine; and Edward F. Kelly 74 P07, CEO of American Express Publishing, the parent of Travel Leisure and Food & Wine magazines.
Some recent alumni include Katherine A. Marsh 92, Deputy Editor of The New Republic; Joel Rothstein 86, a Reuters reporter in Washington; Lee H. Smith, Jr. 80, a writer for Slate; and Leon K. Lazaroff 80, a Chicago Tribune reporter.
Next years Reunion Weekend event will dovetail with a fundraising campaign to raise a permanent and sustainable endowment to afford The News financial independence, a status enjoyed by most college newspapers. Details of this May 2007 celebration will be announced this fall.
Look for exciting coverage of the News centennial in the upcoming months, both in print and online. Grace Ann Marrinan 08, newly appointed Centennial Archives Associate, will contribute reporting to the paper over the next year as The News celebrates its rich history [see page 3].
While plans for Reunion Weekend 2007 are still tentative, to get involved in our celebration and lend your support, please email thenews@choate.edu or write us.
