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John Thomas McManus (1904 – November 1961) was an American
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
active in progressive politics in the 1950s and 1960s best known as co-founder of the ''
National Guardian ''The National Guardian'', not to be confused witThe Guardian British newspaper was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in ...
'', a
left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...
-leaning newspaper.


Background

John Thomas McManus was born in 1904 in
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 ...
. During the 1930s, McManus took off time from work to obtain a
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
from
Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, United States. Its campus encompasses approximately six city blocks next to downtown Marietta and enrolls 1,200 students. History Marietta College began as the Muskin ...
in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
.


Career

In 1927, McManus started to work for ''
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 a copy boy, police reporter, writer on
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
, and movie reviewer. In 1937, McManus resigned from the '' Times'' to join the staff of ''Time'' magazine as radio critic. In 1940,
William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...
lists him among "contributing editors" at ''Time'' in the play, ''Love's Old Sweet Song''. In the 1940s, McManus resigned to join the staff of ''PM'', a left-of-center
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 ...
daily. In the postwar period, McManus was actively involved in electoral politics. In 1948, he served on the national committee of the Progressive Party in support of the presidential candidacy of former vice-president
Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was the 33rd vice president of the United States, serving from 1941 to 1945, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served as the 11th U.S. secretary of agriculture and the 10th U.S ...
. In
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
and
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
, McManus ran for
Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
on the
American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of ...
ticket. In
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
, he ran again for Governor of New York, this time on the Independent-Socialist ticket. In 1949, McManus co-founded the ''
National Guardian ''The National Guardian'', not to be confused witThe Guardian British newspaper was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in ...
'', a progressive newspaper, with fellow former ''Times'' writer
James Aronson James Aronson (1915–1988) was an American journalist. He founded the ''National Guardian''. He was a graduate of Harvard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism ...
. The paper was critical of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
and
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
and supportive of the
labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
and
racial equality Racial equality is when people of all Race (human categorization), races and Ethnic group, ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and Civil and political r ...
. He would co-edit the paper until his death in 1961. In November 1955, McManus and Aronson were among 26 former and current ''New York Times'' employees subpoenaed by the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee The United States Senate's Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951–77, known more commonly as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and sometimes the M ...
. The subcommittee was investigating
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
infiltration in the American media. The subpoenas were based upon the testimony of
Winston Burdett Winston Burdett (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 1993) was an American broadcast journalist and correspondent for the CBS Radio Network during World War II and later for CBS television news. During the war he became a member of Edward R. Murr ...
, a famous
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
war correspondent. In 1956, McManus testified, citing Fifth Amendment protections to avoid naming names or admit any knowledge of Communist activities.


Personal life and death

McManus met his wife, journalist Jane Bedell McManus (ca. 1920-2005), while working at the ''National Guardian'' in the 1950s. They adopted two children, Enid Paul Mayberry and Sharon Mayberry, daughters of the previous Jane's husband, dr George Mayberry. John Thomas McManus died age 56 in November 1961 of a heart attack. His wife moved in 1969 to
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
to live with her third husband William Lee Brent, whom she met and married on the island, until her death.
Interviewed in Olga R. Rodriguez, "Revolution is a Moment," Cubans 2001, U.C. Berkeley
/ref>


Works



''The New York Times'', Aug. 15, 1937


Legacy

In 1952,
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer and intelligence agent. After early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), he defected from the Soviet u ...
mentioned McManus in a personal anecdote from the early 1940s:
Across the table from me was sitting John McManus, then ''Times very fluent radio writer, later an
American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of ...
candidate for Governor of New York. He stared at me balefully. "I should think your favorite movie," he said, "would be '' The Informer''." A mighty armor is our innocence. Guilelessly, I agreed. The picturization of the novel by the brother of my old ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...
'' colleague, Tom O'Flaherty, was in fact one of my favorite movies. It was several minutes before I suddenly realized what McManus meant.


See also

''
National Guardian ''The National Guardian'', not to be confused witThe Guardian British newspaper was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in ...
''


References


External links


"John T. M'Manus, Newsman, is Dead,"
''New York Times'', November 23, 1961 (subscription required)
List of all movie reviews in ''The New York Times'' by John T. McManus


Jan. 16, 1956.

letter to editor of ''The New York Times'', May 12, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:McManus, John T. American male journalists American reporters and correspondents The New York Times journalists 1904 births 1961 deaths American Labor Party politicians Progressive Party (United States, 1948) politicians Independent-Socialist Party politicians Radio critics 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century New York (state) politicians