Safire, William

Safire, William

(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.