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LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1997

Tom Riegel's Contributions To Journalism Recalled

Former Head Of W&L Journalism Dies At 94

Oscar Wetherhold "Tom" Riegel, 94, a world authority on propaganda and professor emeritus of journalism at Washington and Lee University, died Aug. 22 at Stonewall Jackson Hospital following a minor stroke at Gulchleigh, his Rt. 1 Glasgow home, the previous day.

A native of Reading, Pa., Riegel attended Lawrence College and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1924 with a degree in journalism. He studied at the University of Paris in 1925-26 and received a master's degree in American literature from Columbia University in 1930.

Riegel's journalism career began at the Neenah (Wis.) Daily News in 1918. He worked for the Reading Tribune (1924-25), the Paris bureau of the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News (1925-27) and the Lancaster (Pal) News Journal (1927) before taking; a job as an instructor of English at Dartmouth College in 1927.

Riegel came to Washington and Lee as an assistant professor with the Lee Memorial Journalism Foundation in 1930. He was named director of the department of journalism and communications in 1934, a position he held for 34 years. He was promoted to associate professor in 1936 and professor in 1941. He was named professor emeritus upon his retirement in 1973.

He remained throughout his life an untiring warrior for freedom of the press.

Riegel's contributions to the study of journalism at Washington and Lee are legendary. He introduced the study of film into the curriculum in 1932 and established the university's radio station WLUR-FM, in 1967. He was one of the first persons to teach an Amencan college course in propaganda. "He awakened generations of students to the joys of the life of the mind," said John Jennings, a former student of Riegel's and professor of journalism and communications at Washington and Lee.

"Tom Riegel was one of the giants of American journalism," said author Tom Wolfe (The Bonflre of the Vanities), a 1951 graduate of W&L. "His long life was an exemplary one for all who were fortunate enough to know him."

"He was one of the world's most creative thinkers on propaganda and public relations," said former W&L president Robert E.R. Huntley.

"Tom Riegel was a great teacher of journalism, always connecting it to literature and government and human freedom," said Charles McDowell, Washington political columnist for the Richmond Times Dispatch. Riegel was highly respected in the field of journalism education. McDowell recalls that when he applied to the very competitive Columbia University graduate school of journalism he was told that his chances of gaining admission were slim. When he replied that this would be a disappointment to Professor Riegel who had recommended him, he was told to forget what had been said and to consider himself admitted.

"I am losing my last father," said Philippe Labro, author of The Foreign Student and vice president and director of programming of Radio Tele Lexembourg, France's largest radio network.. "He was a master of journalism, a free-thinking individual. He is the stuff W&L legends are made of."

"Two of his least favorite things were pomposity and arrogance," said Patrick Hinely, a former student of Riegel's.

Riegel made a name for himself in the field of propaganda and public opinion research with the 1934 publication of his award-winning study, Mobilizing for Chaos - the Story of the New Propaganda (Yale University Press, reissued by Quadrangle/New York Times in 1972).

Riegel took a leave of absence from Washington and Lee during World War II to become principal propaganda analyst in the Office of War Information.

"Propaganda is like a schizophrenic woman, half saint and half slut, with whom you have lived so long in your village that you have become accustomed to her face and don't really look at her closely to see if she has changed, or if changes in your village have given her a different look " he noted in a 1980 address to Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional Journalists.

Over the years, Riegel accumulated a world-class collection of more than 2,500 political posters, including American and British posters from both World Wars; German posters of Hitler-era and post-World War II elections; propaganda posters from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China; Western European anticommunist posters; and U.S. political party posters. In 1992, a 15-card set culled from Riegel's World War II collection, was produced by the trading card company Tuff Stuff.

Riegel's other published works include Crown of Glory: The Life of James J. Strang, Moses of the Mormons (Yale, 1935). He contributed articles to countless publications over the years, including The New Republic, The Southern Review, Film Comment and The Public, Opinion Quarterly, for which he was an associate editor (1936-44) and longtime advisory board member.

He was also a member of the National Press Club, the Overseas Writers Club, the Cosmos Club of Washington, Sigma Delta Chi and Pi Delta Epsilon journalism fraternities, Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa honorary fraternity, That Club and Phi Delta Theta social fraternity.

Survivors include his wife, Jane Cordelia Riegel; five children, Kurt Riegel of Arlington, Cordelia Riegel Bingham of Crowthorne, England, Hunt Riegel of Novi, Mich., Mark Riegel of Charlotte, N.C., and Quentin Riegel of Bowie, Md.; 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

In accordance with Riegel's wishes, there, will be no funeral or memorial service. Family and friends will assemble for remembrance at a later date. Burial arrangements are being handled by Lomax Funeral Home. The family requests that donations be made to the Glasgow First Aid Crew or Washington and Lee University.