Interview with Tom Crawford, August 29, 2017

Tom Crawford was born in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Clarkston High School in DeKalb County, Georgia in 1968. As a journalism student at the University of Georgia, Crawford worked at the student-led newspaper, The Red & Black, rising to rank of sports editor. He graduated with honors in 1972 and began his professional career as a beat reporter at the Alabama state capitol for the The Montgomery Advertiser. From 1972 to 1983, Crawford worked as a copy editor for The Atlanta Constitution (1972-1973); a beat reporter covering local, county, and state government for The Marietta Daily Journal (1973-1975); and as a reporter for The Atlanta Journal (1975-1983) covering the county courthouse, Atlanta city hall, and the Georgia state capitol and General Assembly. Crawford's political reporting during this period included the 1978 and 1982 governor races, 1980 U.S. Senate race, 1981 Atlanta mayoral election, and numerous other congressional, state, and local elections. Crawford stepped away from reporting in 1983 and assumed an accounts executive position at Pringle Dixon Pringle, a public relations agency in Atlanta. He was also an occassional speechwriter during the 1980s and 1990s. In 2000, Crawford launched the online news website Capitol Impact--later known as The Georgia Report--which provided news coverage of policial events at the state capitol and across Georgia until 2018. Tom Crawford died on July 18, 2018 after a decades-long battle with cancer.

2017-08-29

RBRL425TPGA-004

67 minutes