Davis, Elmer

Elmer Davis, in full Elmer Holmes Davis, (born Jan. 13, 1890, Aurora, Ind., U.S.—died May 18, 1958, Washington, D.C.), news broadcaster and writer, director of the U.S. Office of War Information during World War II.

Davis had been a reporter and editorial writer for The New York Times when he joined the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1939 as a radio newscaster. He soon gained a national following. Appointed to head the Office of War Information in 1942, Davis won respect for his handling of official news and propaganda, although his liberal stance, especially his opposition to military censorship, generated controversy. In 1945 he resumed his career as a news broadcaster with the American Broadcasting Company until 1953. Davis was an outspoken critic of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy’s tactics investigating alleged communist infiltration of the U.S. government.