Jonathan Daniels served as editor of the News and Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1933 to 1942 and from 1948 to 1968. After his retirement in 1968 he served as editor emeritus until his death in 1981. As editor, Daniels continued the paper's tradition as a southern liberal democratic organ, a practice begun by his father, Josephus, who bought the paper in 1894 and served as its editor and publisher until his death in 1948. As the dominant voice in eastern North Carolina, the News and Observer was influential in politics, and the Daniels family used the newspaper as its platform to push for reform in the state.

Jonathan was more than a newspaperman, although that is what he considered himself first and foremost. He wrote twenty-one books between 1930 and 1975 as well as many periodical articles. During World War II he served as an administrative assistant and press secretary to President Franklin Roosevelt. Following Roosevelt's...