Barry Sussman
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Barry Sussman (July 10, 1934 – June 1, 2022) was an American editor, author, and public opinion analyst who dealt primarily with public policy issues. He was city news editor at ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' at the time of the Watergate break-in and supervised much of the reporting on the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
.


Career

After receiving a degree in English and history from
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
in 1956, Sussman worked for a
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
advertising agency. He began his career in
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
in 1960 as a reporter at the '' Bristol (Va.-Tenn.) Herald Courier'', a daily with a circulation of about 25,000. He left after 16 months but soon returned as managing editor before joining ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' in 1965. He was a state-suburban editor, then DC editor, with a staff of 40 to 45 reporters. He was city news editor at ''The Washington Post'' at the time of the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
and was detached to direct the coverage that led to the ''Post'' being awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journali ...
in 1973. While initially a close supervisor of the journalists
Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs ...
and
Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original ne ...
involved in the ''Post''s coverage of Watergate, Sussman later became estranged from them. After Watergate, he founded the ''Washington Post'' poll, designing and conducting opinion surveys and reporting on the results. in 1981 he was in charge for the ''Post'' in establishing and directing the ''Washington Post''/ABC News poll, again designing surveys and doing most of the reporting on the findings. Sussman left the ''Post'' in 1987 to become managing editor for national news at
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
(UPI), in charge of 800 reporters and editors across the U.S. and 40 more in UPI's Washington bureau. He left UPI after less than one year, however, and became an independent pollster, continuing to focus on public policy issues. His clients included trade associations, the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
and other interest groups. In the 1990s, he became active as an international news media consultant, with assignments at newspapers in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and seven
Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...
countries. From 2003 to 2012, he was editor of Nieman Watchdog, a project of the
Nieman Foundation for Journalism The Nieman Foundation for Journalism is the primary journalism institution at Harvard University. History It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, focused on public policy news reporting. He was a board member of the group Innovation Media Consulting. Sussman is one of the journalists profiled at ''Investigating Power'', a website covering events in recent American history. In September 2011, Sussman was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from Brooklyn College, his alma mater. Among other awards, Sussman was named editor of the year by the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild for his work on Watergate.


Death

Sussman died on June 1, 2022, at his home in
Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...
, due to
gastrointestinal bleeding Gastrointestinal bleeding (GI bleed), also called gastrointestinal hemorrhage (GIB), is all forms of bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the rectum. When there is significant blood loss over a short time, symptoms may includ ...
.


Books

* ''The Great Coverup: Nixon and the Scandal of Watergate'' * ''What Americans Really Think'' * ''Maverick: A Life in Politics'' His book, ''The Great Coverup: Nixon and the Scandal of Watergate'', was named by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as one of the best books of the year in 1974. He is also the author of ''What Americans Really Think'', published by Pantheon in 1988, based on columns he wrote while pollster and public opinion analyst at ''The Washington Post'', and ''Maverick: A Life in Politics'', written with and about the former
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
and
Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...
,
Lowell P. Weicker Jr. Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (; May 16, 1931 – June 28, 2023) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. Weicker unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for presi ...
, published in 1995 by
Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...
.


References


External links


Barry Sussman bio at Nieman Watchdog

The Author: ''The Great Coverup – Nixon and the Scandal of Watergate''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sussman, Barry 1934 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American newspaper editors Brooklyn College alumni Deaths from gastrointestinal hemorrhage The Washington Post people Writers from Brooklyn