Herb Klein (journalist)

Herb Klein
White House Director of Communications
In office January 20, 1969 – July 1, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Ken Clawson
Personal details
Born	April 1, 1918 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	July 2, 2009 (aged 91) San Diego, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	University of Southern California

Herbert G. Klein (April 1, 1918 – July 2, 2009^[1]), also called Herb Klein, was best known as United States President Richard Nixon's Executive Branch Communications Director. Klein also served as Press Secretary for three of Nixon's campaigns and editor of the Copley Newspapers in San Diego before and after his time in the White House.^[2]

Family

Herbert was the son of George J. Klein and Amy Marie Cordes. He married Marjorie G. Galbraith in Long Beach, California on November 1, 1941. The couple had two daughters.

Klein died aged 91 on July 2, 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in La Jolla, California, according to reports from his family.

Education

Klein was a 1935 graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School (Los Angeles) and earned a B.A. in Journalism in 1940 from the University of Southern California, where he was a Sports Editor for the Daily Trojan.

Biography

• 1942–1946 – Officer in U.S. Navy
• 1946–1950 – News editor, Alhambra Post-Advocate and special correspondent for Copley Newspapers. The Copley Newspaper chain has been rumored to be associated with the Central Intelligence Agency since 1947.
• 1946 – Press agent for Richard M. Nixon's campaign for California's 12th congressional district seat
• 1948 – Press agent for Nixon's U.S. House of Representatives re-election campaign
• 1950 – Press agent for Nixon's California United States Senate seat campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas
• 1950–1968 – Features & Editorial writer, editorial page editor, associate editor, executive editor, and rose to Editor (1959–68) of the San Diego Union
• 1952 – Publicity director for the Dwight D. Eisenhower-Nixon California Presidential campaign
• 1956 – National Assistant press secretary for Nixon's vice-Presidential campaign
• 1960 – National Press secretary for Nixon's Presidential campaign
• 1962 – Press secretary for Nixon's campaign for Governor of California
• 1968 – National Communications Manager for Nixon's Presidential campaign
• 1969 – resigned July 1, 1973 – Communications Director for Executive Branch of Nixon Administration
• 1973–1977 – Vice President of Corporate Relations, Metromedia, Inc.
• 1977–1980 – Media consultant
• 1980– retired in 2003 – Editor-in-Chief, Copley Press

Memberships and awards

Klein was a National Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute and a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, serving on the board of directors from 1966 to 1968. Sigma Delta Chi officer, the national journalism society.

Publications

Klein authored the book Making It Perfectly Clear, an Inside Account of Nixon's Love-Hate Relationship with the Media, released by Doubleday in 1980, ISBN 0-385-14047-9.

Legacy

Klein was a Life Trustee of the University of Southern California, and in 2007, the university established the Herbert G. Klein Lecture Series. The series features lectures at USC and in San Diego. The first lecture, in April 2007, was by J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to China.^[3] The second, in San Diego, was by Tom Johnson, former Los Angeles Times publisher and CNN executive. The April 2008 lecture at USC was by Clark T. Randt, Jr., then U.S. Ambassador to China.^[4] Klein helped advise the university as it launched its influential U.S.-China Institute. Klein did much to support USC's efforts to become a global university.

References

1. Nixon aide, Copley executive Herbert G. Klein, dies at age 91 – San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/2/09
2. Clymer, Adam (July 4, 2009). "Herbert G. Klein, Aide in the Nixon White House, Dies at 91". New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
3. http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=61 Click here for a streaming video version of the 2007 Klein Lecture by Amb. Roy
4. http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=999 Click here for a streaming video version of the 2008 Klein Lecture by Amb. Randt

External links

• Richard Nixon Presidential Library – Herbert G. Klein
• NNDB – Herbert G. Klein
• American Enterprise Institute – Herbert G. Klein
• The American Presidency Project – Acceptance letter from Nixon
• USC College News – Trojan Treasure – Herbert G. Klein
• USC U.S.-China Institute
• Marjorie Klein obituary
• Time magazine – Nixon's Hagerty
• San Diego Weekly Reader – Ghost of Nixon's Past
• San Diego Union-Tribune Burl Stiff
• Finding aid for the Herbert G. Klein Oral History, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• NYTimes obituary
• Appearances on C-SPAN