Former editor of The Indianapolis News dies at 80

Medford Stanton Evans, former editor of The Indianapolis News, died Tuesday, according to a statement from the American Conservative Union.

A friend of Stanton's told The New York Times that Evans died from pancreatic cancer.

Evans joined The News in 1959 after graduating from Yale University and graduate school at New York University. As a columnist, Evans drew national attention with his commentary on the emergence of a conservative movement that included the nomination of Barry Goldwater for president in 1964.

Born in Kingsville, Texas, Evans became the head editorial writer at The News when he was 26, and a year later, he was made editor, a position he held until 1974.

"Stan was my first boss," said Jerry Barnett, 78, who worked as The News' editorial cartoonist for 30 years. "He was something else."

Barnett remembers Evans loved playing ping-pong and had a sheep dog named Hoover (for Herbert Hoover) that he'd bring into the news room.

"I don't understand why he decided to hire me, other than I came cheap," Barnett said, laughing.

Back in those days, Barnett recalled, a lot of cartoonists were trying to "draw mean" and gain notoriety by getting their publications sued. But Barnett didn't want that, and neither did Evans, he said.

"When you want to have fun with (politicians), just put a beanie on their heads with a propeller on it," Barnett remembers Evans telling him. "It was a great pleasure working for Stan. I didn't know anything about being an editorial cartoonist. He was a great teacher."

In 1960, Time Magazine ran a profile titled "The Press: End of a Search," in which it quoted Eugene C. Pulliam, publisher of The News, as saying, "I've been looking for years to find a man like (Evans)." Pulliam started The News in 1948.

"I've combed the whole (expletive) country," Pulliam told Time. "There are lots of good journalists around, but they're all cockeyed left-wingers."

Evans left the paper in 1974 but continued to write for outlets such as CBS Radio, National Public Radio and the Voice of America, The Times obituary states.

The Indianapolis News closed its doors in 1999.

Star associate editor Russ Pulliam contributed to this story.Call Star reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317.