Michael Gartner (born October 25, 1938, in
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
) is an American journalist, attorney and businessman. He was president of the
Iowa Board of Regents.
Biography
A graduate of
Carleton College
Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...
and the
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City.
Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...
, Gartner was a member of the New York and Iowa bars as of 1997.
His career in journalism began in the sports department of the ''
Des Moines Register'' at the age of 15. After completing his undergraduate degree, he joined the staff of ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' (1960–1974), ultimately serving as page one editor. He then served as editor and president of the ''Des Moines Register'' (1974–1985), general news executive of the
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation.
It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...
Company and ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' (1985–1986), editor of the Louisville ''
Courier-Journal'' (1986–1987) and president of
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
(1988–1993). He was president of the
American Society of Newspaper Editors from 1988 to 1993.
As chair and editor of ''
The Daily Tribune'' in
Ames, Iowa
Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...
from 1993 to 1999 (which he also co-owned from 1986 to 1999), Gartner won the 1997
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing
The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, ...
for a body of work about community issues. He previously served as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board from 1983 to 1992. He has also been a columnist for the
Op-Ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
pages of ''The Wall Street Journal'' and of ''USA Today.''
Gartner chaired the Vision Iowa fund, which provided communities money to fund projects such as the
Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, from 2000 to 2005. In May 2005, Iowa Gov.
Tom Vilsack named him president of the
Iowa Board of Regents, which oversees the state's three public universities (the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
,
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
, and the
University of Northern Iowa). He served until December 2007.
Gartner is chairman of Raccoon Baseball, Inc., which owned the
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
team from 1999 to 2021, and formerly was co-owner of Big Green Umbrella. When the Iowa Cubs were sold to
Endeavor he and the other owners shared the proceeds with their full-time staff.
Dateline controversy
He resigned from NBC in 1993 as a result of controversy over the show ''
Dateline NBC''. The show reported on
dangers of GM pickup trucks, but did not state that it had actually staged the explosion of a truck for broadcast.
Years later Gartner said, "It happened on my watch. I took responsibility for it. I did what I thought you ought to do when you make a mistake. You say 'we made a mistake' and apologize to the viewers." (''Iowa City Press-Citizen'', April 23, 2005.)
See also
*
Journalism scandals
References
External links
Michael Gartner biography*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gartner, Michael
1938 births
Living people
American male journalists
American publishers (people)
Writers from Des Moines, Iowa
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing winners
Carleton College alumni
NBCUniversal people
NBC executives
Presidents of NBC News
New York University School of Law alumni
Courier Journal people
Minor league baseball executives