John Fetterman (reporter)

John Fetterman (February 25, 1920 – June 21, 1975) was an American journalist, a reporter for The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky. He won the Pulitzer Prize for local, general, or spot-news reporting for his 1968 story "Pfc. Gibson Comes Home", about the death of a soldier in Vietnam and the return of his body.[1] It focused on (James T. Gibson) the young man's family in Knott County, Kentucky and the wider community. Fetterman also contributed to a Courier-Journal series on strip mining that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1967.[2]

John Fetterman
Born(1920-02-25)February 25, 1920
Danville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJune 21, 1975(1975-06-21) (aged 55)
Louisville, Kentucky U.S.
OccupationJournalist
Known forWinning several Pulitzer Prizes

Early life and education

Born in Danville, Kentucky, Fetterman served in the U.S. Navy before enrolling at Murray State University under the G.I. Bill. After his graduation in 1949, he served on the staffs of the Murray Ledger and Times and the Nashville Tennessean. After graduate school at the University of Kentucky, Fetterman joined the staff of the Louisville, Kentucky, newspaper.

Journalism career

He was the author of the 1967 book Stinking Creek, about life around the creek of the same name in Knox County, Kentucky.[3]

Fetterman's freelance writing also appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic, Time, and Life.

Fetterman died from a heart attack in Louisville on June 21, 1975.[4] His daughter Mindy, also a journalist, is known for her work as a reporter, columnist and financial editor of USA Today,[5] and in 2008 wrote a follow-up story to Stinking Creek about the present conditions of the area.[6]

References
Wikisource has original works by or about:
John Fetterman
  1. "1969 Winners". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  2. "The 1967 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Public Service". The Pulitzer Prizes. Columbia University. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  3. Kleber, John E. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. p. 856. ISBN 0-8131-2883-8.
  4. "John Fetterman, Reporter, Is Dead". The New York Times. AP. June 23, 1975.
  5. "Mindy Fetterman | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  6. "'The nurses' birthed a better place at Stinking Creek". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
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