Charles Peters
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Charles Given Peters Jr. (December 22, 1926 – November 23, 2023) was an American journalist, editor, and author. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the ''
Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...
'' magazine and the author of ''We Do Our Part: Toward A Fairer and More Equal America'' (
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
, 2017). Writing in ''
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 ...
'', Jonathan Martin called the book a "well timed … ''cri de coeur''" and "a desperate plea to his country and party to resist the temptations of greed, materialism and elitism."


Early life and education

Charles Given Peters Jr. was born in December 1926 in
Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...
. He attended public schools, graduating from Charleston High School in 1944. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944, serving at
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
, Camp Atterbury in
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, and Fort McClellan,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, where an injury in a training accident resulted in his being in Army hospitals for several months, and his discharge from the Army in 1946. In 1946, he went to New York City to enter Columbia College. After receiving his BA in 1949, he entered graduate school at Columbia and received his MA. in 1951. In 1952–53, he worked for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in New York. During the summers from 1946 through 1954, he performed various backstage roles at summer theaters in
Boylston, Massachusetts Boylston is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,849 at the 2020 census. History Boylston was first settled by Europeans around 1706 in the northern part of the present-day town, most notably by the S ...
;
Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, four ...
, and
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
. He had his own
repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...
company in Charleston, West Virginia. Peters entered the University of Virginia School of Law in 1954. He was named to the editorial board of the
Virginia Law Review The ''Virginia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was established on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year. The stated objective of the ''Virginia Law Revi ...
in 1955, serving until his graduation with a JD in 1957.


Early career

Peters returned to Charleston to practice law with his father's firm, Peters, Merricks, Leslie and Mohler. His practice included libel, criminal defense, corporate and labor law, as well as representing plaintiffs and defendants in civil trials. In 1959, he was named chief staff officer of the Judiciary Committee of the
West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature in West Virginia. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular se ...
, and in 1960, he was elected a member of the House. In 1960, he also managed the primary and general election campaigns in Kanawha County for presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. After serving in the 1961 session of the legislature, he went to Washington, D.C., to help start the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
. After returning to serve in the 1962 legislative session, he was named the Peace Corps' director of evaluation, a position that required him to report on the performance of the agency's programs overseas and on how they could be improved.


Founding of the ''Washington Monthly''

In 1968, Peters resigned from the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
to begin planning a new magazine to be called the ''
Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...
''. The magazine's prospectus said its purpose would be "to look at Washington the way an anthropologist looks at a South Sea island," helping the reader understand our system of politics and government, where it breaks down, why it breaks down, and what can be done to make it work." The first issue was published in January 1969. Its articles included "The White House Staff vs. the Cabinet," "What Happens to a Senator's Day," and "The Data Game." Among the authors were such journalists as
David Broder David Salzer Broder (September 11, 1929 – March 9, 2011) was an American journalist, writing for ''The Washington Post'' for over 40 years. He was also an author, television news show pundit, and university lecturer. For more than half a cen ...
,
Murray Kempton James Murray Kempton (December 16, 1917 – May 5, 1997) was an American journalist and Advocacy journalism, social and political commentator. He won a National Book Award in 1974 List of winners of the National Book Award#Current, (category, "Co ...
, Russell Baker, and Calvin Trillin, as well as people who had worked in government, such as Peters, former
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
aide
Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers; June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Council ...
, and former
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aide James Boyd. A similar mix of authors would continue to write for the magazine, but beginning in 1970, the magazine became largely the product of young unknowns, who would typically serve as writer-editors for two years. Among them were
Taylor Branch Taylor Branch (born January 14, 1947) is an American author and historian who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy chronicling the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and much of the history of the American civil rights movement. The final volume o ...
, Suzannah Lessard, James Fallows, Walter Shapiro,
Michael Kinsley Michael E. Kinsley (born March 9, 1951) is an American political journalist and commentator. Primarily active in print media as both a writer and editor, he also became known to television audiences as a co-host on '' Crossfire''. Early life and ...
,
David Ignatius David Reynolds Ignatius (born May 26, 1950) is an American journalist and novelist. He is an associate editor and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He has written eleven novels, including ''Body of Lies (novel), Body of Lies'', which direct ...
, Nicholas Lemann, Gregg Easterbrook, Mickey Kaus, Joe Nocera, Jonathan Alter,
Timothy Noah Timothy Robert Noah (born 1958) is an American journalist, author, and a staff writer at ''The New Republic''. Previously he was labor policy editor for ''Politico'', a contributing writer at MSNBC.com, a senior editor of ''The New Republic'' ass ...
, Steve Waldman, Matt Cooper, Jason DeParle, James Bennet, Katherine Boo, and Jon Meacham. Peters and the magazine have been characterized as important influences on
neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...
and
radical centrism Radical centrism, also called the radical center, the radical centre, and the radical middle, is a concept that arose in Western world, Western nations in the late 20th century. The ''Political radicalism, radical'' in the term refers to a willi ...
. Peters served as editor of the ''Washington Monthly'' until he retired in 2001, but continued to write a regular column ''Tilting at Windmills'' for the magazine until 2014. Russell Baker, in an interview in the alumni magazine ''Columbia College Today'', called Peters "a great editor in an age that's not producing great editors."


Founding of Understanding Government

In 1998, he founded a non-profit organization called Understanding Government with the purpose of improving press coverage of the executive branch of government. Understanding Government sponsored the first-ever Prize for Preventive Journalism, given in 2008 to journalist Michael Grunwald, and has published reports on federal agencies including the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
, the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
, and the
Consumer Product Safety Commission The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing "unreasonable risks" of injury ...
. Peters retired from the nonprofit in 2012, and it ceased operations in 2014.


Personal life, illness and death

In 1957, Peters married Elizabeth Hubbell, a former ballet dancer who had attended
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
. They had a son. After several years of poor health due to
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
, Peters died at his home in Washington, D.C. on November 23, 2023, at the age of 96.


Books

;Author: *''We Do Our Part: Toward a Fairer and More Equal America'' *''Lyndon B. Johnson'' *''Five Days in Philadelphia: The Amazing 'We Want Willkie!' Convention of 1940 and How It Freed FDR to Save the Western World'' *''How Washington Really Works'' *''Tilting At Windmills: An Autobiography'' ;Co-editor: *''Blowing the Whistle'' (with Taylor Branch) *''The System'' (with James Fallows) *''The Culture of Bureaucracy'' (with Michael Nelson) *''A New Road for America: the Neoliberal Movement'' (with Phil Keisling) *''Inside the System'' (with Timothy Adams – first ed.; with John Rothchild – second ed.; with James Fallows – third ed.; with Nicholas Lemann – fourth ed.; with Jonathan Alter – fifth ed.)


Articles


''A Neoliberal's Manifesto''


Awards

Peters was named the recipient of the first Richard M. Clurman Award in 1996 for his work mentoring young journalists. He also received the Columbia Journalism Award in 1978 and was a Poynter Fellow at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1980, the Delacorte Lecturer at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in 1990 and 2003 and visiting fellow at the
Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...
at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1994. In 2001, he was elected to the Hall of Fame of the
American Society of Magazine Editors The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is an industry trade group for magazine journalists and editors of magazines published in the United States. ASME includes the editorial leaders of most major consumer magazine in print and digital ...
and the Hall of Fame of the D.C. Society of Professional Journalists. In 2002 he was the Times Mirror David A. Laventhol Visiting Professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. In 2003, he received the Carr Van Anda Award from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism,
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
. He was a Public Scholar at the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...
, September 2002 through April 2003.


References


External links

*The West Virginia & Regional History Center at
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...
houses the Charles Peters papers within the Distinguished West Virginians Archive *
Tilting at Windmills listing
'
''Understanding Government bio''''How Washington Really Works''
(documentary about Charles Peters and the Washington Monthly) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Charles 1926 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American male writers American columnists American magazine editors American male biographers American male journalists American political writers Charleston High School (West Virginia) alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Journalists from West Virginia Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia Radical centrist writers United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers University of Virginia School of Law alumni Washington, D.C., Democrats West Virginia lawyers Writers from Charleston, West Virginia 20th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature