On March 11, well-known Armenian American journalist and critic Ben Bagdikian passed away at the age of 96, reports Hayern Aysor.

The prestigious US media critic, professional journalist, educator, merited dean of the Department of Journalism at the University of California, recipient of the most prestigious Pulitzer Prize in Journalism, President of the Washington Post Bureau and later editor of the newspaper’s national news and ombudsman for the newspaper Ben Bagdikian was born in 1920 in Marash, Western Armenia.

Ben’s mother died when he was very young. He grew up in an orphanage, and this became the reason for his loss of knowledge of the native language.

Ben started pursuing his career in journalism when he started working for the most prestigious media outlets in 1941. He also published articles criticizing the mass media. In 1951, Bagdikian started working as a correspondent for the Morning Union Magazine.

In the 1960s, the editors of Washington Post noticed Ben and hired him. It was during those years when Ben Bagdikian became a famous journalist.

In the 1970s, Bagdikian was already the newspaper’s editor-in-chief. He also collaborated with The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Fortune, Time and several other magazines in the U.S. West Coast.

He would receive orders to write books devoted to certain social processes taking place in the country.

In 1971, Harper and Row Publishing House published Bagdikian’s book “Information Machines”, which showed the professional features of gathering information and providing them to consumers, as well as how consumers perceive that information.

In 1975, on the 60^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, US presses started warning about the plans of the Armenians. The authors of such a campaign were magazines that had been hired by the Turks. Bagdikian didn’t resist such slander, put in all his efforts and forced the editors of one of those magazines to publicly apologize for the false news printed in their newspaper.

After that, any author with more or less self-respect thought twice before turning the Armenian Question into a topic for discussion and filtered his or her thoughts before expressing them.

Bagdikian’s speeches devoted to the Armenian Question helped cross the Rubicon. He joined the Armenian General Benevolent Union, started publishing articles in Armenian presses abroad and attended Armenian church on a regular basis.

In 1978, Bagdikian received an invitation to lecture in the Department of Journalism at the University of Berkeley. In 1982, Bagdikian was conferred the title of a doctor. Among his books are the books “I Am an Armenian” (2000) and “Ben Bagdikian: Journalist for Justice”.

Among the prizes and awards of the Armenian journalist with the highest reputation are the Pulitzer Prize for his studies and critiques in the field of journalism, a Citation of Merit as “Journalism’s Most Perceptive Critic” awarded by the American Society of Journalism School Administrators, the James Madison Award, an award granted by the American Library Association and more.