Kalman Seigel

Kalman Seigel (1917–1998) was an American journalist, best known as editor of "Letters to the Editor" as part of his 41 years at the New York Times.^[1][2][3]

Background

Kalman Seigel was born on October 17, 1917. In 1939, he graduated from City College of New York.^[2]

Career

During his 41 years at the New York Times, Seigel worked assistant metropolitan editor, suburban editor, and reporter. During 1950–1, he covered the trial of government economist William Remington, accused by Elizabeth Bentley of working in her Soviet spy ring.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} In 1951, he wrote a series of articles on the effect of McCarthyism on academic freedom, to the last of which New York University philosophy professor Sidney Hook (among others) wrote a reply.^[11][12][13] In 1967, he began selecting letters for New York Times editorials–annually, some 50,000 letters rejected to 3,000 published – "a period that embraced the end of the Vietnam War, the rise and fall of Richard M. Nixon, and Woodstock."^[1][2][3]

Upon retiring from the Times on December 31, 1980, he wrote:

As steward of the section that is the public's most direct route to the columns of this paper, I have tried to enhance openness, welcoming a great diversity of opinion. As I leave, I am grateful to all letters writers for their faith in the liberty that Euripides tells us comes only when "freeborn men speak free."^[1][3]

He taught journalism at Brooklyn College, Long Island University, and his alma mater City College.^[1][2]

Personal life and death

Seigel married Lillian Seigel; they had two daughters.^[1]

Seigel had a brother, Max Seigel, who also wrote for the Times.^[1]

In 1971, Seigel served as president of the Society of Silurians.^[14]

Kalman Seigel died age 80 on May 13, 1998, of pancreatic cancer at the New York University Medical Center.^[1]<^[2]

Awards

• 1952: George Polk Award for series on dangers of McCarthyism to academic freedom^[2]

Works

Seigel wrote two books with Lawrence Feigenbaum:^[1][2]

• This Is a Newspaper (1965)
• Israel: Crossroads of Conflict (1968)

Seigel also edited:

• Talking Back to the New York Times (1972)^[1][3]

References

1. Kaufman, Michael T. (14 May 1998). "Kalman Seigel, 80, Times Editor Who Oversaw Letters to Editor". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
2. "Kalman Seigel". Associated Press. 14 May 1998. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
3. "Kalman Seigel". Alumni Association of the City College of New york. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
4. Seigel, Kalman (21 December 1950). "Jury is Selected in Remington Case". New York Times. p. 15.
5. Seigel, Kalman (27 December 1950). "Ex-Wife Identifies Remington as Red". New York Times. p. 1.
6. Seigel, Kalman (28 December 1950). "Ex-Wife Says Reds Got Remington Aid". New York Times. p. 1.
7. Seigel, Kalman (29 December 1950). "Mrs. Remington Says Ex-Husband And She Were Not 'Orthodox' Reds". New York Times. p. 1.
8. Seigel, Kalman (3 January 1951). "3 Witnesses Link Remington to Reds". New York Times. p. 16.
9. Seigel, Kalman (4 January 1951). "Ex-Navy Officer Admits Red Ties". New York Times. p. 26.
10. Seigel, Kalman (18 January 1951). "Remington No Red, Father Testifies". New York Times. p. 17.
11. Seigel, Kalman (10 May 1951). "College Freedoms Being Stifled By Students' Fear of Red Label". New York Times. p. 1.
12. Seigel, Kalman (11 May 1951). "College Fighting Repressive Forces". New York Times. p. 29.
13. Hook, Sidney (23 May 1951). "Academic Freedom Integrity of American Scholars and Teachers Affirmed". New York Times. p. 26.
14. "Past Presidents". Society of Silurians. Retrieved 3 September 2018.