Richard Severo, an esteemed reporter for The New York Times, passed away on June 12 at the age of 90. Severo was known for his investigative journalism and his willingness to challenge the newspaper’s management. His career spanned from 1968 to 2006, during which he received numerous accolades for his groundbreaking work.
One of Severo’s most notable achievements was his reporting on a New York State dairy farmers’ cooperative, which revealed that millions of gallons of milk had been watered down with powdered skim milk for several years. This exposé earned him a George Polk Award in 1975, recognizing his outstanding investigative reporting.
In 1977, Severo won a Meyer “Mike” Berger Award for his report on an unwed mother and the tragic death of her child. His remarkable storytelling abilities garnered him three Page One Awards from the Newspaper Guild of New York as well.
However, Severo faced controversy when he ventured into writing a book based on his articles for The Times’s science section. The newspaper’s publishing subsidiary, Times Books, claimed first rights to the book, leading to a contentious battle between Severo and the management. Eventually, Harper & Row secured the rights with a higher bid, causing Severo to be transferred to the metropolitan desk, which he viewed as a demotion.
The conflict surrounding Severo’s book deal sparked a broader discussion within the journalism industry regarding ownership of reporters’ work and an organization’s authority to transfer employees. It made headlines beyond the news world, drawing attention from outlets like The Washington Post.
The clash between Severo and his boss, A.M. Rosenthal, the executive editor at the time, intensified, culminating in four years of arbitration hearings. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists rallied in support of Severo when the management demanded access to his personal papers. Ultimately, an arbitrator ruled in favor of The Times in September 1988.
After his leave of absence, Severo returned to The Times and accepted the transfer to the metropolitan desk. Subsequently, he served on the obituaries desk, where he meticulously prepared in-depth obituaries for notable individuals in advance.
The incident involving Severo’s book deal prompted The New York Times to establish a policy requiring staff members to notify the company in advance if they intend to write a nonfiction book based on their work for the publication.
Throughout his career, Severo showcased his dedication to investigative reporting. He delved into undercover work, spending months in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx to expose the heroin trade’s impact. In 1977, he uncovered leakage of nuclear waste into Lake Erie from the nation’s first nuclear waste reprocessing plant. He also shed light on the effects of Agent Orange, a herbicide, on American soldiers returning from the Vietnam War.
During his leave of absence, Severo co-authored “The Wages of War: When America’s Soldiers Came Home — From Valley Forge to Vietnam” (1989) with Lewis Milford.
In his memoir “City Room” (2003), Arthur Gelb, a former editor at The Times, praised Severo as one of the boldest reporters on his staff.
Thomas Richard Severo, fondly known as Dick, was born on November 22, 1932, in Newburgh, New York. He came from a family of Italian immigrants, with his father owning a liquor store and his mother as a homemaker. Severo graduated from Colgate University in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He embarked on his journalism career at CBS as a news assistant and gained experience at various publications before joining The New York Times in 1968.
Severo is survived by his wife, Mokey, who is his only immediate family member.
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