George Seldes

George Seldes
George Seldes (1989), age 98
Born	Henry George Seldes (1890-11-16)November 16, 1890 Alliance Colony, New Jersey, USA (now Vineland, New Jersey)
Died	July 2, 1995(1995-07-02) (aged 104) Windsor, Vermont, USA
Occupation	Author, Journalist
Language	English
Nationality	American
Ethnicity	Jewish American
Notable works	See list of books You Can't Print That!: The Truth Behind the News, 1918–1928 Can These Things Be! World Panorama Sawdust Caesar: The Untold History of Mussolini and Fascism You Can't Do That The Facts Are: A Guide to Falsehood and Propaganda in the Press and Radio Facts and Fascism The People Don't Know: The American Press and the Cold War
Spouse	Helen Larkin Seldes, née Wiesman (1932-1979; her death)
Relatives	Gilbert Seldes (brother) Marian Seldes (niece)
Website
georgeseldes.net

Henry George Seldes (/ˈsɛldəs/ SEL-dəs; November 16, 1890 – July 2, 1995) was an American investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, editor, author, and media critic best known for the publication of the newsletter In Fact from 1940 to 1950. He was an investigative reporter-- what the early 20th century called a muckraker. Like them he used his journalism to fight injustice and justify reform. But the public mood had changed, and the demand for muckraking was much weaker on the part of the readership. His career, according to historian Helen Fordham, demonstrates that those who crusaded too vehemently crossed a line and seemed to violate new standards of impartiality and objectivity. His work was often criticized as too radical.

Influenced by Lincoln Steffens and Walter Lippmann, Seldes's career began when he was nineteen years old and was hired at the Pittsburgh Leader. In 1914, he was appointed night editor of the Pittsburgh Post.

In 1916, he went to the United Press in London and, starting in 1917, during World War I, he moved to France to work at the Marshall Syndicate. While there, he interviewed Paul von Hindenburg, the supreme commander of the German Army. Hindenburg commented on the defeat of Germany in the war, including U.S. involvement; however this interview was censored by the U. S. military. Seldes would later claim that the publishing of this interview could have avoided the rising of the Nazis to power and, thus, World War II.