Myron “Mike” Feinsilber, not just a journalist but a member of a breed apart, a wire-service journalist, and the husband for 55 years of Doris Poliakoff Feinsilber, died on April 1 at the age of 89.
The news was his lifelong fascination, starting in the 5th grade when he and a pal wrote a typewritten paper, an early form of Samizdat. It was called “The Daily Stink.” It didn’t come out daily, but its creators didn’t know “daily” wasn’t just a term that belonged in newspapers’ names.
At the strong suggestion of a 6th grade teacher, the paper took a more dignified name. Mike later became the editor of the Daily Collegian, the college paper at Penn State, which did come out every weekday. For two college summers, he worked as late police reporter for the (also late) Intelligencer-Journal of Lancaster, PA.
Upon graduation in 1956, he joined United Press International, where he reported for 20 years — in Pittsburgh, Columbus, Harrisburg, Newark, New York, Saigon and Washington, where he was lured away by the competition, the Associated Press.
He stayed at AP for 22 years, as reporter, news editor and assistant Washington Bureau Chief. He retired in 2001, but returned for another decade as a part-time writing coach. He loved to write, especially about the human, the quirky and the unimportant, but revealing.
Mike covered a Pennsylvania mine collapse which had a happy ending, the rescue of three trapped miners. He covered impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon in the Senate and the House and helped cover 18 political conventions, especially their outlandish aspects.
Early in Washington, D.C., he met and wed the love of his life, Doris Poliakoff, a South Carolinian and a pioneer computer programmer for the CIA. She survives him as does a sister-in-law, brother-in-law and eight nephews, one niece, their spouses and their offspring.
Mike and Doris loved theater and travel and spent vacations all over Europe and hiked annually, often in England. They lived in their “starter house” in Washington, D.C., took extensive walks and awaited statehood. They were solid liberals.
Mike was born in New York City and grew up in Stroudsburg, PA, where his parents operated a women’s clothing store. He was a gardener and a bread baker and the co-author with friends of three books.
He liked reading newspapers and books, haunted bookstores and bought more of their wares than he could absorb.
In his memory, donations may be sent to the International Rescue Committee, 122 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10168, A Wider Circle, 4808 Moorland Lane, Suite. 802, Bethesda, MD 20814, or to the ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004.
The post Myron “Mike” Feinsilber appeared first on Washington Jewish Week.