Drew Pearson (journalist) - Criticism of Pearson

Criticism of Pearson

During his career, Pearson had many critics, both inside and outside Washington. His style of combining factual reporting with rumormongering and innuendo contributed to mixed opinions about his work from others in the press, who often sympathized with his goals when railing against political opponents or corrupt businessmen, but found themselves conflicted over Pearson's enigmatic choice of villains for his columns, as well as his tactics in collecting and reporting salacious personal information. Throughout his career, Pearson used details of scandalous sexual liaisons to attack his personal and political opponents. As late as 1967, Pearson was still using allegations of homosexuality to impugn the reputation of then-Governor Ronald Reagan, who was running for the GOP presidential nomination, by claiming that homosexuals in his staff were operating in the governor's office.