Eugene (Gene) C. Patterson is one of a group of southern-born journalists who served as spokesmen for an enlightened South. In his jobs as reporter and bureau chief for United Press in New York and London--and as managing editor, executive editor, editor, and chief executive officer for newspapers in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Saint Petersburg, Florida--Patterson helped to promote minority rights, quality writing, ethical awareness, editorial outspokenness, and heightened standing of editors as publishers. A World War II veteran and descendant of Confederate soldiers, Patterson served as a symbol of the editors who demanded an end to the South's segregation laws and influenced opinion on the Vietnam War.

Patterson was born in Valdosta, Georgia, on 15 October 1923, the son of William C. and Annabel (Corbett) Patterson. As a youngster Patterson worked on the family farm, but he was more interested in the Adel News, a weekly newspaper in...