Pegler, J. Westbrook (James Westbrook), 1894-1969

James Westbrook Pegler (1894-1969), freelance journalist, was a columnist for Scripps-Howard Syndicate from 1933 to 1944, and a columnist for King Features Syndicate from 1944 to 1962.

Conservative syndicated columnist. Won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing labor union corruption.

James Westbrook Pegler (1894-1969) was an American journalist. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 2, 1894, he was educated at the Lane Technical School and at Loyola University in Chicago. He received an honorary LL.D. from Knox College in 1943. He was a correspondent on the European staff of United Press during World War I (1916-1918) and then served in the U.S. Navy (1918-1919); later he was sports editor of the United News, the Chicago Tribune, the New York World-Telegram, and the Chicago Daily News. In 1944 he moved his syndicated column to King Features Syndicate. His collected columns were published in several books: 'Taint Right (1936), Dissenting Opinions of Mister Westbrook Pegler (1938), and George Spelvin, American (1942).

In his syndicated columns, Pegler criticized many American figures and institutions, including the Supreme Court, the tax system, labor unions, and every President from Herbert Hoover to John F. Kennedy. In 1962 he lost his contract with King Features Syndicate due to outspoken criticisms of executives of its parent company, the Hearst Corporation.

Pegler was a member of the National Press Club and received numerous awards for his work. In 1941 he received the Pulitzer Prize for reporting for his expose of racketeering in Hollywood labor unions. In 1942 he was named one of the country's best adult columnists and in 1944 he won the Gold Medal from the Nassau Bar Association. Other awards include the National Headlines Club Award (twice), the American Legion Award, and the Distinguished Service Medal of Army and Navy Union.