Sid Yudain
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Sidney Lawrence "Sid" Yudain (May 6, 1923 – October 20, 2013) 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 ...
who founded ''
Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...
'' in 1955 as a community newspaper focused on the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
and
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
. Yudain published the first issue of ''Roll Call'' June 16, 1955, with an initial printing of 10,000 copies. ''Roll Call'' currently publishes four issues per week, with a circulation of more than 22,000, as of October 2013.


Biography


Early life

Yudain, the seventh of eight children of Morris Yudain and Berta Jaffe, was born on May 6, 1923, in
New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...
. His parents had immigrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
from the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
in 1907. Morris Yudain (born Borris Yovanovitch ) attended the art academy in Riga and studied at the University there. As a young man he served in the Russian army cavalry, and was designated for special duty in the Czar's Imperial Guard. The owner of a retail real estate in Stamford, CT and New Canaan, CT, the father later also established a real estate
brokerage firm A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a Purchasing, buyer and a sales, seller. This may be done for a commission (remuneration), commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer b ...
. As children, Yudain and his siblings would settle disputes by publishing little mini-newspapers using the family's Remington portable typewriter. Yudain enlisted in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
shortly after graduating from
New Canaan High School New Canaan High School is a public high school in New Canaan, Connecticut, United States. In 2017, it was ranked the best public high school in Connecticut, and one of the top 200 in the nation. New Canaan High School was ranked the 74th best ST ...
. He was stationed in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, where be began publishing a small newspaper for his base. He remained in the
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
area after World War II, where he worked as a
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...
for a Connecticut newspaper. He also worked as a
freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
, penning articles for fan magazines covering actors and films. He interviewed high profile actors and Hollywood figures, including
Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered f ...
,
Lana Turner Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. ...
and
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
.


''Roll Call''

In 1951, Yudain moved to
Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
to take a position as a
press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dutie ...
for freshman U.S. Rep. Albert P. Morano of Connecticut. After noticing that there wasn't any newspaper that focused on the Congress as a community, Yudain conceived and founded ''
Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...
'', a small newspaper aimed at members of Congress and their staff, in 1955. It cost Yudain $90 to establish the newspaper. He published the inaugural issue of ''Roll Call'', which he called a
community newspaper Community journalism is locally-oriented, professional news coverage that typically focuses on city neighborhoods, individual suburbs or small towns, rather than metropolitan, state, national or world news. If it covers wider topics, community ...
, on June 16, 1955, with an initial printing of 10,000 copies. The paper was founded and published out of Yudain's workplace in Rep. Morano's Washington congressional office. Yudain initially wrote much of the copy and articles himself. According to 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 ...
'', Yudain described the early ''Roll Call'' as "part
local newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
, part
trade paper A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this a ...
, part movie fan magazine, part ''
New Yorker New Yorker may refer to: * A resident of New York: ** A resident of New York City and its suburbs *** List of people from New York City ** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York *** Demographics of New York (state) * ''The New Yor ...
''." ''Roll Call'' also covered serious issues, ranging from congressional committee assignments to
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
s, but largely shied away from legislative issues until the 1990s. One of Roll Call's earliest hard news story concerned a heart attack suffered by then
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
Senator
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
just one week after the newspaper's debut. Senator Johnson wrote several ''Roll Call'' guest pieces on his recovery. Yudain penned a ''Roll Call'' gossip column titled "Sid-Bits," which is a predecessor of ''Roll Calls and rollcall.com's present blog, "Heard on the Hill." Early guest columnists included
U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, who published an obituary for one of his favorite doormen in the paper. ''Roll Call'' also published a weekly
pin-up A pin-up model is a model (person), model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour photography, glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures ...
picture within its early issues, which drew criticism, but proved popular with the overwhelmingly male-dominated congressional delegations. The paper focused on personal issues, such as weddings, birth announcements and personnel changes within the House and Senate. In 1986, Yudain sold ''Roll Call'' to
Arthur Levitt Arthur Levitt Jr. (born February 3, 1931) is the former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He served from 1993 to 2001 as the twenty-fifth and longest-serving chairman of the commission. Widely hailed as a ...
, who was the chairman of the
American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...
at the time of the sale. Yudain continued to work as a columnist at ''Roll Call'' until 1988. ''Roll Call'' was acquired by the
Economist Group The Economist Newspaper Limited (commonly The Economist Group) is a British media company headquartered in London, England. It is best known as publisher of ''The Economist'' newspaper and its sister lifestyle magazine, ''1843 (magazine), 1843'' ...
in 1992. The Economist Group purchased ''
Congressional Quarterly ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based Economist Group and ...
'' (CQ) in 2009 as a "companion publication" to ''Roll Call''. Roll Call and CQ currently form ''The Economists CQ Roll Call Group. Yudain and his wife, the former Lael Bairstow, hosted frequent large parties at their riverfront home on the Pacific Palisades in North West Washington through several Presidential administrations. The events drew members of the House and Senate, White House staff, and diplomatic corps and featured singing and music playing by the guests on a stage in the garden on the property. The parties received extensive media coverage over the years. Yudain is credited with discovering the comedian Mark Russell, who often performed at these events. The family was listed in the Washington Social Directory . Yudain died from liver cancer on the morning of October 20, 2013, at his home in
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, at the age 90. He was survived by his wife of 40 years, Lael, whom he married in 1973; two children, Rachel Kuchinad and Raymond Yudain; and four grandchildren, Owen, Lucas, Charlotte, and Max. He was buried at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...
in Jewish ceremony and a memorial service was held at the
National Press Club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yudain, Sid 1923 births 2013 deaths American newspaper founders American columnists American people of Latvian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American political journalists American newspaper editors American newspaper reporters and correspondents United States congressional aides Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Journalists from Arlington County, Virginia People from New Canaan, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut Jewish American journalists United States Army soldiers Deaths from liver cancer in Virginia United States Army personnel of World War II