Editing George Anthan

{{Short description|American journalist (1936–2016)}}
{{needs additional citations|date=April 2022}}
'''George Peter Anthan''' (June 2, 1936 – August 17, 2016) was an American journalist. He was the [[Washington D.C.|Washington Bureau Chief]] for the ''[[Des Moines Register]]''.<ref name="itb">{{cite book|title=Inside the beltway: a guide to Washington reporting|year=2003|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-0-8138-1494-0|pages=57, 93|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EGWb9J9ljjEC&pg=PA57 |author=Don Campbell|author2=Wendall Cochrane |accessdate=11 January 2011}}</ref>  

== Biography ==
Anthan was born in [[St. Joseph, Missouri]], in 1936, and was a graduate of the [[University of Kansas]] School of Journalism.<ref name=Register-obit />

He spent his early career reporting in [[Valley Junction, Iowa|Valley Junction]] and [[Des Moines, Iowa]], for the ''[[Des Moines Tribune]]''.  In 1971, he joined the ''[[The Des Moines Register|Register]]''{{'}}s prestigious Washington, D.C., bureau.  There he covered agriculture, food safety, and farm policy issues for 30 years.

Anthan stated, "My credentials for covering agriculture were established in my first several weeks working for the ''Des Moines Register'' when I was assigned to cover the [[Iowa State Fair]].  And immediately—which is a treasured assignment, since the book ''[[State Fair (novel)|State Fair]]'' was written by a ''Des Moines Register'' reporter — and I immediately identified in the caption some purebred [[pig|swine]] as [[Hereford Hog|Hereford]]s.  It was the only time in my 40-some-year career at the ''Des Moines Register'' that I heard the words, 'Stop the presses.'"{{cn|date=November 2023}}

Anthan used an [[Underwood Typewriter Company|Underwood]] and then an [[IBM Selectric II]] typewriter for most of his career. 

== Personal life and death ==
An avid bicyclist, Anthan rode his bike between his home in suburban Maryland and his office in the [[National Press Building (Washington, DC)|National Press Building]] for 30 years, logging over 100,000 miles in all.  A close friend, [[Donald Kaul]], lured Anthan back to Iowa each year beginning in 1974 to ride his bicycle across the state in [[RAGBRAI]],<ref name=Register-obit /> now the world's largest bicycle ride,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.ncppub.com/pages/?p=5980 |title= Rock Valley Selected to Host RAGBRAI this July |work= Sioux County Index Reporter |date= February 5, 2014 |accessdate= February 5, 2014 |last= Crosbie |first= Nicole |archive-date= February 22, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222153105/http://www.ncppub.com/pages/?p=5980 |url-status= dead }}</ref> which Kaul and John Karras started in 1973.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Karras |first1= John |last2= Karras |first2= Ann |name-list-style= amp |title= RAGBRAI: Everyone Pronounces It Wrong |year= 1999 |location= Iowa City  |publisher= Iowa State University Press |isbn= 978-1-58729-538-6 }}</ref>

Anthan was a member of the [[Gridiron Club]].  

He died on August 17, 2016, at the age of 80 from cardiac arrest.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/george-anthan-journalist-and-two-time-pulitzer-prize-finalist-dies-at-80/2016/08/30/da5d29fc-6bd0-11e6-99bf-f0cf3a6449a6_story.html|title=George Anthan, journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, dies at 80|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref><ref name=Register-obit /> He was survived by his wife Ann Anthan, a Missouri native, lover of dogs, and road racing enthusiast.

== Awards ==
Anthan was the winner of several awards for outstanding journalism, including the [[Raymond Clapper Memorial Award]] (three times)<ref name=Register-obit>{{cite news|title=Former Register bureau chief, Pulitzer finalist George Anthan dies|first=Brianne |last=Pfannenstiel|work=[[Des Moines Register]]|date=Aug 18, 2016|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2016/08/18/former-register-reporter-pulitzer-finalist-george-anthan-dies/88970722/}}</ref><ref name=JournoInstitue>{{cite web|title=Raymond Clapper Memorial Award winners (1944 to 2011)|url=https://www.pressclubinstitute.org/raymond-clapper-memorial-award-winners-from-1944-to-2011/|author=Journalism Institute|publisher=[[National Press Club]]|access-date=Nov 15, 2023}}</ref> and [[National Press Club]] awards. He was twice a [[Pulitzer Prize]] finalist.<ref name=itb/><ref>{{cite web|title=National Reporting|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/National-Reporting|work=The Pulitzer Prizes|publisher=Columbia University|accessdate=11 January 2011}}</ref> Anthan also won an [[Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship]]
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aliciapatterson.org/|title=Alicia Patterson Foundation|website=aliciapatterson.org}}</ref> in 2004 to research and write about the de-population of the northern Great Plains.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Journalists from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:University of Kansas alumni]]