Charles Cragg Hines (19 June 1945 - 16 December 2023) was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, was employed by the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

,'' as a correspondent, bureau chief and columnist, for more than three decades. He retired from the ''Chronicle'' in 2007. Since his retirement, Hines wrote for

Washingtonian (magazine) ''Washingtonian'' is a monthly magazine distributed in the Washington, D.C. area, with a focus on local feature journalism, guide book-style articles, real estate, and politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated wi ...

as a freelancer and was a Democratic activist since 2008. in 2001, Hines was named as one of the "Top 50 Journalists" in D.C., by ''Washingtonian'', along with other notable journalists such as

Dan Rather Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurrica ...

Cokie Roberts Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs; December 27, 1943 – September 17, 2019) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, ...

, and

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 ...

. Hines reported from the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

in 1987, and covered each summit meeting with

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, through three administrations. He also reported on Saudi Arabia at the start of the

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, and the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

Education and background

Hines earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

in 1967. While a student, he served as an editor of ''The Yucca'', the yearbook of North Texas State University, in 1964, 1965, and 1966. Hines was awarded a congressional fellowship, by the

American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political scientists in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, it publishes four ...

, for the 1970-71 academic school year. The program is a highly selective, nonpartisan program devoted to expanding knowledge and awareness of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Career

Hines was a news reporter, bureau manager and statehouse correspondent for ''

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 ...

'', in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and later in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. After five years, he left in 1972, and began working at the ''Houston Chronicle''. Hines' 35-year career with the ''Chronicle'' began in 1972, when he worked as a correspondent. Later, in 1983, he served as the paper's Washington bureau chief where he served in that position until 2000. He was a columnist at the ''Chronicle'', until his retirement in 2007. Hines reported from the Berlin Wall in 1987, when

President Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

made his "tear down this wall" speech. He also covered each summit meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev, through the Reagan,

George H.W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

and Clinton administrations. He was in Saudi Arabia at the start of the Persian Gulf War, and wrote the main story in the ''Chronicle’s'' special edition, covering the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

Awards and recognition

Hines was the recipient of several awards and honors, some of which are listed below. * 1970-71 Awarded a Congressional Fellowship, by the American Political Science Association, funded by the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

. * 2001 Hines was one of the Top 50 Journalists in D.C., named by ''Washingtonian magazine''. * 2001 First-place, Texas ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' Managing Editors Award. * 2007 Adweek referred to Hines "One of the great Washington monuments in the journalism community." * 2019 The Mary Marshall Outstanding Democrat Award, by the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

References

External links

Cragg Hines archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Cragg American columnists University of North Texas alumni 1945 births 20th-century American journalists American male journalists