1 Photo
John F. Stacks
John F. Stacks of Bridgehampton and New York, a former correspondent and news executive for Time Magazine for 35 years and an author of five books, died September 4 of complications from prostate cancer. He was 70.
At Time Magazine, Mr. Stacks served as national political correspondent, chief of correspondents, deputy managing editor and executive editor. His books included a biography of James “Scotty” Reston, The New York Times reporter, columnist and editor from 1939 to 1989, who became one of the most influential newspapermen during what Mr. Stacks considered the golden age of American journalism.
Mr. Stacks was born into the world of journalism. His father was a reporter and editor of The Lancaster Intelligence Journal, the daily newspaper of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he worked as an intern. After graduating from Yale in 1964, Mr. Stacks was hired as a reporter at The Washington Star, the capital’s evening newspaper. In 1967, he joined Time Magazine’s Washington bureau, where he could focus on reporting on national politics. In 1973, he was put in charge of Time’s coverage of the Watergate scandal and in 1980 he was named national political correspondent. Throughout this period, he covered the campaigns of numerous presidential candidates, including Carter and Reagan.
In 1983, Mr. Stacks was appointed Time’s New York bureau chief, which began his rise in the magazine’s editorial management. He served as deputy chief of correspondents, in charge of national reporters, and in 1987 was appointed chief of correspondents, supervising both national and foreign bureaus, one of the largest editorial networks in the world. That post, considered at the time to be one of the plums of American journalism, gave him the opportunity to travel extensively and interview foreign leaders, while helping shape the magazine’s overall editorial content. He later held the more administrative posts of executive editor and deputy managing editor.
Mr. Stacks retired in 2002, to finish his biography of Reston and to pursue his many leisure interests, which included golf, squash, fishing, traveling to the far corners of the planet, cooking, and playing with his vintage MG sports car. To his friends, he was known as a raconteur and bon vivant, with a passionate interest in politics and the role and responsibilities of the press.
In Bridgehampton, Mr. Stacks, who lived on Lumber Lane, was an active member of the Bridgehampton Historical Society, initially as a supporter of and participant in its vintage car road rallies and, in recent years, as a member of its board of directors. He took over as editor of its annual magazine, The Bridge, transforming it into a lively, relevant and professionally polished organ for the Society.
According to Mr. Stacks’ wife, Carol, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer five years ago but, with treatment, had been able to pursue an active and relatively normal lifestyle until June of this year. His final book project, called “Albest,” has just been published. It is a compilation of recollections of Time correspondents spanning the past four decades.
John Fulz Stacks was born in Lancaster on February 3, 1942, to Helena and Harry F. Stacks. He was married to Dora Jo Aungst in 1964. They were divorced in 1985 and he remarried Carol Cox, a psychotherapist. He is survived by his wife and a son, Benjamin, from his first marriage; a step-daughter, Nicole Ruane; two grandchildren and a step-grandchild.
on Sep 10, 2012