Talk:Jon Meacham

2009 op-ed stating that Richard Cheney should run for President
There is an ongoing edit war whether this should be mentioned as Meacham's most significant article. This article did receive a lot of notice; however, he has written many other articles. And my belief is that this should not be the only mention in the Newsweek section. And in any case, this dispute should not be discussed on the main article page. This discussion page is a more appropriate place.

As an alternative, perhaps a separate section with significant Newsweek articles. Meacham has also written much about the role of the church and religion in modern day life which is very noteworthy as well; as his his writings on contemporary politics.

Bryan MacKinnon (talk) 02:20, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

"Only Child"; "Raised by his Grandfather"; Parents?
Meacham's article is glaringly deficient with respect to zero mention of his parents. Is there a reason they are not named?

The parents listed are not his parents as I knew them in Savannah in the 70's, should be Rev. Jerome Meacham, Episcopal priest and organist and choirmaster at Christ Episcopal Church in Savannah, a graduate of Oberlin College and Sewanee. His mothers name was Marie, also a graduate of Oberlin College. She was an absolutely beloved music teacher in the Lower School at Savannah Country Day School. The only citations I could think of are the yearly annuals of Savannah Country Day School where I was a student with Jon and his sister Christine. My mother taught Jon in fifth grade. Her name was Nina Zipperer. Those of you who know how to correct this, please do. I was very close to the entire family, though I haven't seen Jon in years. Sincerely, Daniel Zipperer, St Louis

72.211.214.97 (talk) 18:28, 2 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I would add something if I could find a source. The only thing I have found so far is a Newsweek article that Meacham wrote about the Vietnam war and his father, Jere's experiences there. I will keep looking, but if you can find a source, that would be great!–CaroleHenson (talk) 03:45, 19 March 2020 (UTC)


 * I didn't find all of the information mentioned here... and have a different name for his mother, based upon his engagement announcement... but I added some background information.–CaroleHenson (talk) 07:50, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

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Impeachment: An American History
Meacham co-authored Impeachment: An American History. --- Another Believer ( Talk ) 14:46, 15 October 2018 (UTC)
 * ✅ - added to list of books.–CaroleHenson (talk) 03:26, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

Article tag for tone
I am not sure if some of the issues have already been fixed regarding tone. There is no question that the content has a positive slant, but it would be helpful to understand what specifically is the concern.

In the meantime,
 * I will look for secondary sources to replace primary sources
 * Remove Amazon info about one of the book.
 * Expand the article based on what I can find in secondary sources

Any other insight, in the meantime, is appreciated.–CaroleHenson (talk) 02:29, 19 March 2020 (UTC)

WP:UNDUE re: comments about Trump
I am wondering if the comments about Trump have an undue weight. He talks and writes about many subjects and the sole mention of the subject of his articles is about Trump.–CaroleHenson (talk) 07:55, 19 March 2020 (UTC)
 * I moved the Trump comments into a note.–CaroleHenson (talk) 20:16, 20 March 2020 (UTC)
 * I think that after the 'not-normal' 2022 Soul of the Nation speech which he authored (sole author?), his views with regards to Donald Trump and his supporters might be of such significance as to move it back to the main section given the nature and tone of that speech (which some are calling the most divisive in US Presidential History)? He was also subsequently dropped by several News Networks as a paid contributor for afterwards commenting on the Presidential 'normalcy' of the speech without disclosing that he was the speech's author (he is also incidentally, a regular confidant of Joe Biden). 2001:8003:70F5:2400:98FE:83F8:CBB:33C7 (talk) 19:26, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Conflict of interests not disclosed (multiple instances of)?
Did he get black-listed from a network for not disclosing that he wrote or helped write Biden's acceptance speech, which he praised? Source: https://thepatriotictimes.com/biden-speechwriter-gets-axed-from-mainstream-media/ Kdammers (talk) 02:19, 12 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Don't know. But he just got dumped as a paid contributor from MSNBC after affirming the Presidential 'normality' of Biden's 2022 Soul of the Nation Speech without disclosing that he actually wrote it. Disturbing for some (most, I would hope) ... as was the speech and the fact that he was inserted to provide expert, impartial commentary on it afterwards on a National News Network! The appearance that MSNBC might be coordinating with the White House in reaffirming/reiterating messaging to the American People is certainly an inference one could draw from this arrangement. 2001:8003:70F5:2400:98FE:83F8:CBB:33C7 (talk) 16:52, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Meacham was one of the best contributors for MSNBC. He was one of the reasons I ever tuned in. No one connects history to current events better than him. (71.58.48.59 (talk) 15:41, 12 November 2020 (UTC))

Historian
I have seen that an editor had tried a number of times to remove "historian" from this article. I am not sure why, but Meacham is clearly a historian, often identified more specifically as a "presidential historian". Please see Jon Meacham section and the many sources that state that he is a "presidential historian" here.–CaroleHenson (talk) 23:06, 17 March 2021 (UTC)
 * A Mother Jones article just published today says Meacham often calls himself a biographer, a subtle but meaningful styling that has the effect of distinguishing him from a historian, a trade that’s subject to rigorous peer review and an imperative to arrive at novel conclusions. Indeed, of the dozen or so prominent American historians I asked to speak with about Meacham’s work, most declined, professing a lack of familiarity with his output. That certainly doesn't outweigh the sources (like the NYT and Library of Congress) that refer to him as a "presidential historian", just mentioning it as an anecdotal point. Schazjmd   (talk)  14:54, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Many third-party sources call him a historian, so it should remain. This appears to be a crusade by a single editor, whose only recent edits are to this article and to Ron Chernow (and to delete warnings from their talk page about this crusade). I've directed a discussion on Talk:Ron Chernow here, since it's a single phenomenon on two articles. TJRC (talk) 18:26, 23 April 2021 (UTC)


 * I just reverted the most recent edit that removed "historian".–CaroleHenson (talk) 18:52, 23 April 2021 (UTC)
 * In my opinion Meacham is a fully qualified historian. As for getting a job as an academic historian--forget it: many (most?) university departments are rapidly cutting their full time history faculty--and hiring underemployed "adjuncts" who get about $4000 a course and no benefits. Rjensen (talk) 19:49, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Speech Writing
please find RS that say it's a noteworthy issue.  Eve rgr een Fir  (talk) 23:29, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
 * There's four now Viktory02 (talk) 15:02, 3 January 2022 (UTC)