Kenneth L. Dixon
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Dixon (April 3, 1915 - June 29, 1986), was a prominent journalist
who reported, edited, and penned columns for seven newspapers, including two in Louisiana
-- Lake Charles
and Baton Rouge. He was also a war correspondent during World War II
.
Dixon was born in McDonough County, Illinois
, near the small town of Colchester
to Roy Lee Dixon and the former Martha R. Mourning. He was educated in public schools and then obtained a two-year professional teaching diploma from Western Illinois University
(then Western Illinois State Teacher's College) in Macomb
, also located in McDonough County. He taught in rural
schools for a time but then launched a newspaper career that began with the Macomb Daily Journal, where he was a reporter from 1934-1936. He was thereafter a reporter for the Canton Daily Ledger in Canton
(Fulton County
), Illinois.
Between 1936 and 1942, he went west and was an editor
for the Hobbs Daily News in Hobbs, New Mexico
(Lea County
), and the Carlsbad Current Argus in Carlsbad
(Eddy County
).
On July 1, 1938, he married the former Ola Maye Montgomery (1914-1978) of Hobbs. They had no children.
Dixon joined the Associated Press
in Washington, D.C.
, in 1942. He was a war correspondent in North Africa
, Europe
, and the Pacific
theaters. His reporting in World War II won him Army, navy, and Army Air Corps
commendations and a citation from Sigma Delta Chi, the professional journalism society. He accompanied more than twenty-five air combat missions and was the only newspaperman present when American forces broke out of Anzio
and advanced on Rome. In December 1944, Dixon covered the successful exploits of then United States Army
Mayor William Stewart Walker
of Winnfield
to rescue 380 American soldiers trapped behind Nazi lines in the Battle of the Bulge
in Belgium
.
From 1946-1949, Dixon was a syndicated columnist
and reporter for International News Service and King Features.
He was the editor and columnist of the Lake Charles American Press from 1949-1961. In Lake Charles, he helped to expose a Louisiana gambling
syndicate and won the praise of a judge
who cleared him of defamation. During Dixon's tenure, the American Press doubled in circulation.
He then became managing editor
of the Meridian Star in Meridian, Mississippi
(Lauderdale County
), a position that he held from 1961-1964. He was a syndicated columnist for United Features from 1964-1967, when he became a reporter and editorial page editor for the capitol newspaper, the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. He remained with the Advocate until 1971. While Dixon was at the Advocate, the managing editor was Margaret Richardson Dixon
, the first woman to hold the top newsroom position. The two were not related.
After he left the Advocate, Dixon spent his last years as a free-lance writer. He died in Baton Rouge and was survived by a sister, Dorothy Dixon Burgard (born 1921) of Colchester. Dixon is interred in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Colchester.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who reported, edited, and penned columns for seven newspapers, including two in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
-- Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
and Baton Rouge. He was also a war correspondent during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Dixon was born in McDonough County, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, near the small town of Colchester
Colchester, Illinois
Colchester is a city in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,493 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the provincial town of Colchester, England.-Geography:Colchester is located at ....
to Roy Lee Dixon and the former Martha R. Mourning. He was educated in public schools and then obtained a two-year professional teaching diploma from Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
(then Western Illinois State Teacher's College) in Macomb
Macomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois southwest of Galesburg. The population was 18,588 at the 2000 census. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University.- Geography :...
, also located in McDonough County. He taught in rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
schools for a time but then launched a newspaper career that began with the Macomb Daily Journal, where he was a reporter from 1934-1936. He was thereafter a reporter for the Canton Daily Ledger in Canton
Canton, Illinois
Canton is the largest city in Fulton County, Illinois in the United States. The population was 18,288 as of the 2000 Census. The Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area covers all of Fulton County; it is in turn part of the wider Peoria-Canton, IL Combined Statistical Area .-Geography:Canton is...
(Fulton County
Fulton County, Illinois
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 37,069, which is a decrease of 3.1% from 38,250 in 2000. Its county seat is Lewistown. Canton is the largest city. Both cities are southwest of Peoria, and the county is considered...
), Illinois.
Between 1936 and 1942, he went west and was an editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
for the Hobbs Daily News in Hobbs, New Mexico
Hobbs, New Mexico
Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 28,657 at the 2000 census.Hobbs is the principal city of the Hobbs, New Mexico Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Lea County.-Geography:...
(Lea County
Lea County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*75.0% White*4.1% Black*1.2% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.6% Two or more races*16.5% Other races*51.1% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
), and the Carlsbad Current Argus in Carlsbad
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...
(Eddy County
Eddy County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*77.4% White*1.4% Black*1.5% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.0% Two or more races*16.0% Other races*44.1% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
).
On July 1, 1938, he married the former Ola Maye Montgomery (1914-1978) of Hobbs. They had no children.
Dixon joined the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in 1942. He was a war correspondent in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
theaters. His reporting in World War II won him Army, navy, and Army Air Corps
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
commendations and a citation from Sigma Delta Chi, the professional journalism society. He accompanied more than twenty-five air combat missions and was the only newspaperman present when American forces broke out of Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
and advanced on Rome. In December 1944, Dixon covered the successful exploits of then United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Mayor William Stewart Walker
William Stewart Walker
William Stewart Walker, usually known as Stewart Walker , was a lieutenant colonel from Winnfield, Louisiana who, during World War II as a United States Army major, rescued 380 of his fellow soldiers from behind enemy lines in Belgium in December 1944...
of Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
to rescue 380 American soldiers trapped behind Nazi lines in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
From 1946-1949, Dixon was a syndicated columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and reporter for International News Service and King Features.
He was the editor and columnist of the Lake Charles American Press from 1949-1961. In Lake Charles, he helped to expose a Louisiana gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
syndicate and won the praise of a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
who cleared him of defamation. During Dixon's tenure, the American Press doubled in circulation.
He then became managing editor
Managing editor
A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...
of the Meridian Star in Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
(Lauderdale County
Lauderdale County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 78,161 people, 29,990 households, and 20,573 families residing in the county. The population density was 111 people per square mile . There were 33,418 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile...
), a position that he held from 1961-1964. He was a syndicated columnist for United Features from 1964-1967, when he became a reporter and editorial page editor for the capitol newspaper, the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. He remained with the Advocate until 1971. While Dixon was at the Advocate, the managing editor was Margaret Richardson Dixon
Margaret Dixon
Margaret Richardson Dixon, usually known as Maggie Dixon , was perhaps the most influential woman journalist of 20th century Louisiana. She was the managing editor of her state's capital city newspaper, the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, from 1949 until her death some two decades later...
, the first woman to hold the top newsroom position. The two were not related.
After he left the Advocate, Dixon spent his last years as a free-lance writer. He died in Baton Rouge and was survived by a sister, Dorothy Dixon Burgard (born 1921) of Colchester. Dixon is interred in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Colchester.