Clayton Kirkpatrick  Clayton Kirkpatrick (January 8, 1915 – June 19, 2004) was the editor of the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper from 1969 until 1979. He is credited with modernizing the "Tribune", shifting its news coverage and editorial page away from reflexive partisanship and—in a famous editorial—calling for the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Kirkpatrick grew up in Waterman, Illinois, the son of an operator of a machine shop and garage. Kirkpatrick graduated in 1937 from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. After itinerant jobs around the country, Kirkpatrick joined Chicago's City News Bureau in late January 1938. Kirkpatrick had hoped for a job at the "Chicago Daily News" but instead joined the "Tribune" in 1938, where his first jobs were as a general-assignment reporter and then covering the federal courts. In 1942, Kirkpatrick enlisted in the United States Army, working in Army intelligence and mostly spending his time stationed in England. Kirkpatrick rose up to become a master sergeant was awarded the Bronze Star. He was discharged in November 1945. Kirkpatrick spent 15 years as a reporter at the Tribune before becoming a copy editor in 1954. He then served as make-up editor, chief of the neighborhood news sections and an assignment editor. More promotions followed, as Kirkpatrick was named city editor in 1961, assistant managing editor in 1963, managing editor in 1965 and executive editor in 1967. Kirkpatrick was named the Tribune's editor on January 1, 1969. He immediately replaced the "Tribune"'s partisan writing and reporting with balanced, objective coverage. Kirkpatrick also altered the design and layout of the "Tribune", adding new sections geared toward reader interests. The changes wound up influencing the broader newspaper world. In February 1974, "Time" (magazine) named the "Tribune" one of the nation's 10 best newspapers. In 1974, Kirkpatrick sought for the "Tribune" to become the first newspaper to publish the Watergate scandal transcripts in their entirety. Kirkpatrick and the "Tribune"'s Washington reporters negotiated with Nixon's press secretary, Ron Ziegler, to get the transcripts early and then fly the transcripts on a company jet to Chicago, where a task force quickly prepared them for publication. They were published in a 44-page special section. One week later, Kirkpatrick, who previously had been a Nixon supporter, concluded after reading the transcripts that the "Tribune" should call for Nixon's resignation.