Friends of Ed Guthman pay tribute to the journalist and educator, who died August 31, 2008, at age 89.
To add your wishes, send an e-mail to boekelhe@usc.edu.
I coincidentally was just thinking about Prof. Guthman earlier today as I was working on one of my upcoming lectures for JOUR 463 and thinking back about the professors I had at Annenberg. This is extraordinarily sad news -- what a wonderful professor and a gifted writer. His newswriting class was one of my favorites at USC, and I learned so much from him.
—Sarah (Mast) Huoh (B.A. Public Relations '00), USC Annenberg adjunct journalism instructor
Ed brought energy and charisma to the journalism school, along with an incredibly warm and generous spirit. As a young public information officer at USC, I ate up his advice on how to deal with journalists with tact and integrity. At football games, he'd hold us accountable if we weren’t cheering loudly enough for USC (unless we were playing his beloved Washington Huskies, in which case he'd let it slide). Most of all, he modeled authenticity in an era that often lacks that quality.
—Rob Asghar (B.A. Broadcast Journalism '87), communications director for the USC Office of the Provost
As Leo Rosten defines the word "mensch" in his Joys of Yiddish: "An upright, honorable, decent person.... Someone of consequence; someone to admire and emulate; someone of noble character.... To be a mensch has nothing to do with success, wealth, status.... The key to being a real mensch is nothing less than character: rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous."
Ed Guthman was a man – a true mensch.
—Ed Cray, journalism professor
I'm probably one of the few out here who knew Ed best from his Philadelphia Inquirer time. I knew of his reputation (legendary) and was delighted to get a chance to sit down and talk with him from time to time. He was warm and funny and quick and smart as hell, and passionate about all the right things. I'm grateful that I knew Ed, and I wish I could have worked with him here at Annenberg. We are blessed to have had him.
—Geneva Overholser, director, USC Annenberg's School of Journalism
When I saw Professor Guthman last fall, I asked him, "Do you remember me? You were my instructor twice during my undergraduate years at USC." He replied, "I may be old, but I never forget familiar faces!" It was such a memorable reunion filled with laughter and his unforgettable smile. Thank you, Professor Guthman, for encouraging your students to pursue the truth, for challenging us and for being a role model for all your students.
—Rachel Calderon (B.A. Broadcast Journalism '00), reporter, KTLA-Los Angeles
Ed and I built up a great friendship over the years. I loved asking him not only about the history he lived through but also his perspective on things around campus and Los Angeles. He was always a kind and gracious man, and we will all miss him.
—Pete Carroll, USC head football coach
Ed was one of my greatest inspirations early in my career and education at USC.
When I came up with story ideas for class and turned in my first draft, Ed always found a way to show me how to push myself to the next level. His editing was impeccable; his comments were insightful. In fact, I still have one of the stories he graded back in the late '80s. I got an A- on that assignment. I was so excited. The paper now hangs in my office at SFSU.
Ed also guided me in my early career, advising me to aim for newspapers where I could have a greater impact as a young writer. I remember calling him to whine about my many overnight shifts at the AP, but Ed would tell me that I had to work hard to get to the next phase of my career. My hard work, he said, would pay off. As usual, he was right. I went to the SF Chronicle, where I spent 11 years as a reporter and editor.
Most important, Ed always took the time to listen. He always gave me a nod and a smile when things got hard, letting me know everything would turn out fine. I will miss him greatly.
—Yumi Wilson (B.A. Print Journalism '90), assistant professor of journalism, San Francisco State University
I was privileged to have Ed as a professor twice, for news writing and for investigative reporting. Could an aspiring journalist ask for a better teacher? His career was inspirational, but the man himself was so gentle and humble. Ed was already in his 80s by then, but he never lost touch with his students. It's no surprise that so many of us refused to lose touch with him. He was one of the greats, and we'll miss him.
—Shashank Bengali (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, French & Political Science '01), Nairobi bureau chief, McClatchy Newspapers
Columnist Michael A. Stusser remembered Ed Guthman's influence on his life, calling him an "invaluable adviser." Read the story here.
When Ed Guthman hired me for the national staff of the Los Angeles Times decades ago, I never knew what an influence he would have in my life.
Ed Guthman was one of a kind. Ed was a hard-hitting investigative reporter who believed strongly in the idea of service to his country and his community. "You should never turn down an offer to be of service to the government of the United States," he would tell students. Very few journalists have been respected by so many different kinds of people.
Ed was a very warm man of great integrity who was totally committed to protecting each American's rights to freedom of speech and the press guaranteed by the First Amendment. He taught journalism for 20 years at USC, the longest he ever worked anywhere. He devoted many hours each week to meticulously improving each class's articles with sentence by sentence comments. He took teaching journalism students very seriously.
He was a totally loyal man – loyal to his wife JoAnn, his four children, to Attorney General Robert Kennedy, to President John F. Kennedy, to his newspaper employers and those who worked for him, to USC Journalism and to his students.
It is not surprising that more than one former student has said about Ed since his death on August 31, "Ed Guthman was an American hero."
—Bryce Nelson, journalism professor
One memorable conversation with Ed:
I went to his office to see if he'd want to meet with two theater directors I knew who had reconstructed Robert F. Kennedy's coal mining tour through Eastern Kentucky. He was interested, and one thing led to another and we got onto the value of researching stories in person, by foot, with your hands rummaging through the files, seeking for letters, evidence, trails and proof. God! He and I got so excited about those eureka moments when you find what you are looking for, especially when that something is the missing link and you are not quite sure it really exists, but you can't give up trying to find it because it will nail your story.
We both lamented that the Internet has sort of stolen these moments from us, that actually, physically holding articles and evidence in your own two hands has no substitute. But what I loved about Ed is he didn't begrudge the changes so deeply that it turned him against his students or cub reporters. He was as excitable as a cub himself at that moment. He loved youth and the adventure. He was game. And he was so supportive and kind and generous, and there was nothing like seeing him, because he was always glad to see me. The feeling was mutual.
My sympathy and love to his his family, especially Diane who I also remember with great fondness.
—Sasha Anawalt, director of USC Annenberg's Specialized Journalism (The Arts) degree program
At his funeral, on September 5, 2008, USC Annenberg Writer in Residence Norman Corwin shared a few words about his friendship with Ed. Read his remarks here.
Diane Guthman shared the "Ten Commandments of Ed Guthman" at Ed's funeral services. Read them here.
Author and journalist
Mitch Albom remembered Ed Guthman in his Sept. 7, 2008 column. Read it here.
Freelance journalist and former Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Susan Q. Stranahan wrote about Guthman's influence on her career in a column published Sept. 7, 2008. Read it here.
I first met Ed Guthman at age 16. I had written Attorney General Robert Kennedy asking for an appointment to present him with photos I had taken of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, during his visit to Tampa, Fla., just four days before his assassination.
Mr. Guthman replied with a very kind letter advancing some old fashioned courtesy to come to Washington anytime and an audience with RFK would be mine. Well, I turned up at RFK's office just moments after the Attorney General arrived back from telling President Johnson he was quitting to run for the Senate in New York, August 18, 1964. His secretary said I'd be hard pressed to see the man amidst such a crammed schedule.
My dad was with me and we both left the Justice Department, found a telephone, and called Ed Guthman. Explaining that we had come all the way from Florida for this presentation, it was a matter of maybe 15 minutes before we were inside the Attorney General's office. After a brief encounter with RFK's huge dog, Brumus, that knocked me down to the floor in an affectionate gesture upon my arrival, the presentation came off without a hitch.
I didn't talk to Ed for 42 years after that. Then one day I decided to find him on the Internet to thank him for what he had done for me that sunny August day. He was not only delighted to hear from me but looked at
my JFK pictures and persuaded me to write a book. I still have his email. He also agreed to edit it and we were in progress when he passed away.
He was most generous with his time, contacts and advice, and he wanted all around him to succeed. He was one man who easily lived up to his legend. Ed Guthman had principles and ethics. He was loyal....simply one of a kind. Beyond that, no truer friend could any man have.
The world of journalism lost not only a star but an entire constellation when he died.
—Tony Zappone, author and journalist
I still remember the day when I first walked into Ed’s classroom, thrilled to just meet someone who had known Robert Kennedy. Little did I know that I was meeting someone whose brushes with history rivaled those of Forrest Gump, that soon I would meet RFK’s family at the Kennedy Compound, swim with Mary McGrory’s orphans at Hickory Hill, spend a Thanksgiving at the Guthman’s, and end up at Izzy’s Deli with him almost any time I wanted to ask him about anything. And you did have to ask – he didn’t brag about any of it, and he didn’t seek any of it out, it was all a result of an honorable person doing his job well. But the big grin didn’t really come out until he was hearing someone else’s good news, or telling a story about his wife or talking about what his kids were doing, which says a lot more than anything on that resume.
—Britta Geiogue (B.A. Broadcast Journalism ‘98)