THE ROANOKE TIMES
Saturday, August 23, 1997
RIEGEL, Oscar W., 94, of Glasgow, died Friday, August 22, 1997. The body has been cremated. W&L's Tom' Riegel was an authority on propaganda
Ex-prof, a dedicated skeptic, dies
Writer Tom Wolfe called Riegel "one of the giants of American journalism."
By JON CAWLEY
THE ROANOKE TIMESOscar Wetherhold "Tom" Riegel, a widely traveled journalist, university professor and a world authority in the study of propaganda, died Friday at age 94.
Riegel suffered a stroke Thursday and died a day later at Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington. The native of Reading, Pa., became a newspaperman in 1918 when he took a job at the Neenah (Wis.) Daily News and went on to work for several other newspapers including the Paris bureau of the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News before taking a teaching position at Dartmouth College in 1927.
He arrived at Washington and Lee University in 1930 as an assistant professor of journalism and became director of the department of journalism and communications in 1934, a position he held for 34 years while retaining a professorship. Riegel introduced the study of film into W&L's journalism curriculum and established the university's radio station. He retired from the university in 1973.
In 1934, Riegel wrote a pioneering book on the use of propaganda, "Mobilizing for Chaos: The Story of the New Propaganda." He took a leave of absence from W&L during World War 11 to serve as principal propaganda analyst in the Office of War Information.
Riegel's lifetime travels and study of psychological warfare produced a collection of more than 2,500 political propaganda posters from around the world.
"He was one of the world's most creative thinkers on propaganda and public relations," said former W&L President Robert Huntley. "I think he felt [propaganda] may likely be an impact in this century. He sort of prophesied about that."
Frank Parsons, W&L facilities director and a former Riegel student, said it likely was Riegel's "keen eye and nose for behavior patterns that needed to be debunked" that led him to immerse himself in the study of propaganda.
"I think it was a combination of his travels in Europe - in communist Russia and the beginnings of Nazi Germany - that convinced him that propaganda would be a powerful weapon in the conflict that was brewing," Parsons said.
But "I never sensed he had a mission to change things," Parsons continued. "Instead, he would teach how to recognize and question whatever you were being told by the government, the college or your next class."
Riegel's former students characterized him as subtle but always willing to challenge their intellect. Several said he taught them how to think.. The popular professor, however, was always indifferent to his own accomplishments.
"Two of his least favorite things -- the two evils " he said he would always rail against -- were pomposity and arrogance," said Patrick Hinely, a former student. "He was a hero, but he had few heroes because he was such a dedicated skeptic."
Some of Riegel's other, students themselves became well known. "The Bonfire of the Vanities" author Tom Wolfe called Riegel "one of the giants of American journalism."
Despite the seriousness of Riegel's studies, his friends said he was entertained by life. He was as willing to laugh at himself as anyone or anything else, they said.
Doug Harwood, editor and publisher of the Rockbridge Advocate, remembers asking Riegel on his 90th birthday to what he attributed his long life. Riegel responded:
"I attribute my long life to two things: A strict diet of vodka and tobacco, and I just kept breathing."
Jon Cawley can be reached at 981-3341 or jonc@roanoke.com