John McLaughlin, TV Host Who Made Combat of Punditry, Dies at 89

In The New York Times, Elizabeth Jensen reports that John McLaughin, a former Roman Catholic priest and host of the Sunday morning talk show, “The McLaughlin Group,” died Tuesday at age 89. McLaughlin also served as a member of Richard Nixon’s speechwriting team from 1971 until the president’s resignation in 1974. Jensen writes, “As creator, executive producer and host of ‘The McLaughlin Group,’ which began in 1982, Mr. McLaughlin helped reinvent the political talk-show format by injecting unabashed partisanship and a dash of entertainment.”

Read at The New York Times

© 2011 Religion & Politics