Dear Ed,
My thanks for many things over many years – but most of all for friendship that endures.
Best as ever,
John Seigenthaler, former Nashville Tenneseean editor and assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy
Dear Ed,
Sorry I'll have to miss the program Thursday but let me congratulate you anyway on a fine and full career. You more than deserve this splendid acknowledgment.
With best wishes,
Bill Thomas, former editor, Los Angeles Times
Dear Ed,
So many things to mention. I've never known a Silver Star-winner until you. And LBJ's Silver Star commendation for flying in a transport plane during wartime didn't tarnish the significance. Winning that medal was a very big deal. You must be the gentlest SS winner of all time. Even when you had to nudge to get certain stories done, you did it with great finesse.
Ed, as far as editing, you were a joy to work with and I thank you.
Congratulations and love from Alyce and Ron.
Ron Ostrow, fomer Justice Department Correspondent, Los Angeles Times
Dear Ed,
Your friends, admirers and fans here at The Philadelphia Inquirer want to congratulate you on yet another retirement -- 20 years after you left us here on North Broad Street. The quality of your work, your work ethic and your bedrock integrity have set a standard that all of us strive to emulate. For today and in the years to come, we wish you excellent health, happiness, fulfillment, and, of couse, a lot of fun in sunny southern California. Please come back for a visit.
Bill Marimow, Tony Auth and colleagues from the Philadelphia Inquirer
Upon Guthman's retirement from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Representative Chaka Fattah, D-Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) had the following remarks inserted into the Congressional Record praising Ed for his contributions to the field of journalism and thanking him for his time at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the career of Ed Guthman, a dedicated public servant and master of his craft, who is being honored tonight at the University of Southern California. From his days with Bobby Kennedy to his time at the Philadelphia Inquirer and, most recently, shaping the minds of a new generation of journalists at USC, Ed has remained steadfastly committed to the principles of open government and honest journalism. As editorial page editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, he wrote with insight on the major issues of the day; nuclear safety, education reform and corruption in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania’s court systems. His clear prose and cogent ideas brought honor to his newspaper and true enlightenment to us, the readers.
Ed’s career did not begin with his decade at the Inquirer. Before coming to Philadelphia, he served as the national editor at the Los Angeles Times. It was during his work in Los Angeles that Ed was listed as number three on Nixon’s infamous enemies list. The list, and Guthman’s inclusion, offer enduring evidence of the danger of an unchecked executive and a reminder of the need for an eternally vigilant free and independent press. Prior to the LA Times, he was a reporter at the Seattle Times where he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his investigation into the Washington State Un-American Activities Committee.
I consider it a privilege to call Ed my friend. He is a brilliant man and has contributed greatly to the field of journalism and the quest for a fair and democratic United States. While I am pleased that he has the opportunity to share what he knows with the students of USC, we will always miss him in Philadelphia.”
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
, former lieutenant governor of Maryland and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy
Watch Townsend's video remarks
Dear Ed,
It has been an honor to be your colleague at Annenberg. Thank you for
the joy of learning from you these past three years.
Professor Diane Winston
Dear Ed,
You were truly a brush with greatness - and goodness - between 1990
and 1992.
Your RFK stories were riveting. As was your story about stealing a
picture during your paper days. (Am glad you had a Hechtian-side to
you as well.)
Your marriage made me love my wife more - and give blood on your
girl's behalf when you simply asked.
I wrote my best for you (and Norman Corwin!).
Sincerely,
Christopher Welch, B.A., Print Journalism, Class of 1992