Wallace Turner (March 15, 1921 – September 18, 2010) was an American journalist and government administrator. A native of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, he won a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in 1957 while working for ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Turner later worked in the

Kennedy administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 35th president of the United States began with Inauguration of John F. Kennedy, his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his ...

before returning to the newspaper business where he worked 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 ...

''.

Early life

Turner was born on March 15, 1921, to Clyde H. and Ina Belle (née Wallace) Turner in

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 48,789, up from 43,761 at the 2010 census. Titusville is located along the ...

, and raised in

The Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

region in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

."Wallace Turner." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2007. ''Gale Biography In Context''. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. He was one of three brothers in the family. After earning a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1943 from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, he was married in June and then briefly joined 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 ...

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 ...

. That year he also started in the newspaper business, working for the '' Springfield News'' in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. Wallace was discharged from the Army due to his

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

, and he and his new wife moved to Oregon, his wife Pearl Burk's home state. In 1943, they settled in Portland, Oregon, where he took a job as the night police reporter for the ''Daily Oregonian''.

Newspaper career

While working for ''

,'' Oregon's largest daily newspaper, he won his first of two Heywood Broun Awards in 1952 for his work helping expose a scam on the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

that targeted

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and their land and involved the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

. In

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, Turner was awarded the

Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...

along with fellow ''Oregonian'' reporter William Lambert. The two writers uncovered widespread corruption in the local government that involved

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

officials, which helped lead to investigations into organized crime across the country. Turner even testified in 1957 before the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field, commonly known as the

McClellan Committee The United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management (also known as the McClellan Committee) was a select committee created by the United States Senate on January 30, 1957Hilty, James. ''Robert Kennedy: Broth ...

, concerning the corruption. Turner then went to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

on a Nieman Fellowship for a year after winning the Pulitzer. Turner left ''The Oregonian'' in 1959 to become the news director at Portland television station

KPTV KPTV (channel 12) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Vancouver, Washington–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX (channel 49). The two stations sh ...

. He then left the station in 1961 to work as an Assistant Secretary of the

Department of Health, Education and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...

(HEW) in the administration of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. He served as an assistant secretary until 1962 when he became the press secretary to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare,

Abraham Ribicoff Abraham Alexander Ribicoff (April 9, 1910 – February 22, 1998) was an American politician from the state of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives and Senate ...

. Later that year he returned to journalism and worked for ''

''. With ''The Times'', Wallace worked as a correspondent in their

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

bureau from 1962 to 1970, and then as the bureau chief their from 1970 until 1985. While in San Francisco he covered the shootings of

Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised i ...

and

George Moscone George Richard Moscone ( ; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 37th mayor of San Francisco from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known as "The People's ...

. Turner left San Francisco in 1985 to open ''The Times new

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

news bureau. He continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1988. Turner was the author of two books: ''Gamblers' Money — the New Force in American Life,'' published in 1965, followed by ''The Mormon Establishment'' in 1966.

Death and family

After leaving ''The New York Times'' he returned to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

where he settled in the

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

area. Wallace Turner died on September 18, 2010, in

Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield, OR MSA, Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area. Separ ...

, at the age of 89 from medical complications associated with old age. With his wife Pearl, he had two daughters, Kathleen and Elizabeth.

References

External links

* Robert C. Donnelly
"Organizing Portland: Organized Crime, Municipal Corruption, and the Teamsters Union,"
''Oregon Historical Quarterly,'' vol. 104, no. 3 (Fall 2003), pp. 334–365. {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Wallace Journalists from Portland, Oregon 1921 births 2010 deaths Journalists from Missouri Writers from Seattle Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners The New York Times editors United States Department of Health and Human Services officials People from Titusville, Florida University of Missouri alumni The Oregonian people United States Army personnel of World War II

Early life

Newspaper career

Death and family

See also

References

External links