THE untimely death of James S. Copley takes from us a noble American whose distinguished career in journalism and public affairs placed him in the direct line of descent from this country's great printer-patriots of the past--from Zenger to Pulitzer. His contribution to international peace and understanding was felt far beyond our Nation's borders through his selfless work with newspapers of other countries.
The same courage and heart which characterize Jim Copley's family of newspapers, serving communities from the Illinois prairie to the California coast, shone through in his long, brave fight against illness over the final years of his life. And it is a measure of the man's quiet humanitarianism that the room where he finally lost that fight was part of a hospital and clinic that his generosity had built.
Jim Copley has been a close friend and adviser to me for more than a quarter century. Thus it is with a special sadness that Mrs. Nixon and I join his family, friends, and countless admirers in mourning his death. But we are also grateful today that the message of liberty he most wanted to spread in this country and throughout the Americas will continue to be heard through his newspapers' "ring of truth."
Note: Mr. Copley, 57, died in San Diego, Calif. He was publisher of the San Diego Union and Evening Tribune and was chairman Of the board of Copley Press Inc, a newspaper chain comprising 15 daily and 32 weekly publications.
The statement was issued at Key Biscayne, Fla.
Richard Nixon, Statement on the Death of James S. Copley. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/255330