born Dec. 17, 1929, New York, N.Y., U.S.
U.S. journalist.
Educated at Syracuse University, he worked as a newspaper reporter and at radio and television stations before entering the public-relations field, eventually founding his own firm. He was a speechwriter for Spiro Agnew and then for Richard Nixon . In 1973 he began his conservative and vigorously written "Essay" column for The New York Times , which earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1978. He also writes on linguistic issues in The New York Times Magazine . Among his books are the novels Full Disclosure (1977) and Sleeper Spy (1995) and works of lexicographical interest.