Terry Hunt (AP Photo by Andrew Harnik)
By Paul Stevens
Special to NKyTribune
Terry Hunt, deputy bureau chief of the AP’s Washington bureau, is retiring after a distinguished 46-year career with The Associated Press that included 25 years as chief White House correspondent.
On Terry’s last day working in the bureau Friday, colleagues gathered for a farewell party for Hunt, whose byline – Terence Hunt – was one of the best known and respected in the history of the AP.
“This will be a big transition for this place,” said chief of bureau Sally Buzbee in a memo to the staff. “Terry has been a rock, shepherding the spot news report these last few years, and being an important mentor to so many people over the years. He will be missed. But he is, I think it’s fair to say, quite excited about his next steps. And he has magnificently done the one thing that marks any true leader: Robustly trained and mentored the people who will carry on the excellence he has exemplified.”
Buzbee, who on Thursday was named to be AP’s next executive editor, said Hunt had planned to retire earlier this year “but graciously and kindly agreed to stay on to help us get through the presidential campaign. With the election now over, we can’t think of any other excuses to hold onto him. We’ve tried, don’t get me wrong! But we’ve pulled on his kindness too long and he intends to begin seguing into retirement next week…”
Hunt covered four presidents – Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush – through Cold War showdowns to the collapse of the Soviet empire, from stunted peacemaking attempts in the Middle East to secret wartime trips to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
As AP’s chief White House correspondent, he logged hundreds of thousands of miles on Air Force One flying to roughly 90 countries and all 50 states over 25 years. He stood at the Brandenburg Gate as President Reagan demanded, “Tear down this wall, Mr. Gorbachev.”
He followed President George H.W. Bush to the deserts of Saudi Arabia as Bush marshaled an international coalition for the war to force Iraq to leave Kuwait. He covered Bill Clinton’s presidency on a roller coaster of surprises – from recession to the Monica Lewinsky scandal to the impeachment battles.
Hunt was named assistant bureau chief in 2001 but returned to the White House two years later to cover the post-9/11 presidency of George W. Bush, clouded by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the financial meltdown of 2008.
As Bush’s presidency closed, Terry left the White House again to lead AP’s coverage of the financial meltdown and Great Recession. Three years later, he was named deputy chief of bureau in Washington to help manage AP’s largest bureau.
Terry is a 1967 graduate of the University of Kentucky. He began his AP career in Louisville and then moved to Providence, R.I. as correspondent. He transferred to Washington at the height of the Watergate scandal in 1974 and was promptly assigned to the overnight for 14 months, followed by three more years on the desk. By 1980, he was covering the Senate when he was tapped as a two-day substitute reporter on the Reagan campaign trail. He never found his way off the trail again, following Reagan to the White House.
Terry has been inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, the UK Hall of Distinguished Alumni and the Hall of Fame of the Society of Professional Journalists’ DC Pro Chapter. He is a former president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. He was the winner of the Merriman Smith Award for presidential reporting under deadline pressure, and the AP’s Gramling Award for reporting excellence.
He lives in Kensington, Md., with his wife, Jeanie Johnson. They have a grown daughter, Emily Hunt Wormald, and a terrific dog named Sammy.
Last year, the Northern Kentucky Tribune wrote about Terry’s career in a story by Editor Judy Clabes, a friend since UK journalism school. Click here to read.
Well done, Terry Hunt, well done. You make us all proud to be your colleague.
