For nearly forty years Wes Gallagher helped shape the news reports of the Associated Press (AP), joining the wire service in 1937 as a newsman and retiring in 1976 as its president and general manager. Whether the event was the Allied invasion of Europe or the growing involvement of the United States in Vietnam, Gallagher was active in defining the role of the world's largest news organization in American journalism. As an AP executive he expanded its news coverage and completed its evolution in an age of electronics. While a strong proponent of press freedom, Gallagher also recognized the shortcomings of his profession. In a speech upon his retirement in 1976, he warned his colleagues that the public was becoming "turned off" by the press.

James Wesley Gallagher was born in San Francisco on 6 October 1911 to James and Chispa Gallagher. He was raised in Santa Cruz, California, by his mother and...