S. Griffin (Griff) Singer died early Wednesday morning at 93-years-old, in Austin, after a battle with cancer. Singer, who graduated from UT with a Bachelor of Journalism in 1955 and an M.A. in communication in 1972, was a long-time supporter of The Daily Texan and a prominent Texas reporter for decades.
Singer served in several newsrooms across Texas, most notably at the Dallas Morning News, where he covered the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963. Singer was a dedicated news reporter in his time at the Texan, serving as a day editor and reporter.
In 1967, Singer returned to UT, where he taught in the School of Journalism and served as a mentor for the Texan as head of the Executive Committee of Texas Student Media. Singer was instrumental in advocating that The Daily Texan remain independent from the University after the Texan’s charter expired in 1971.
John Reetz, president of Friends of The Daily Texan, an alumni association, joined the Texan as a student reporter during Singer’s tenure and helped Singer keep the Texan independent.
“He never got recognized for (that), nor would he want to be recognized,” Reetz said. “But it was something that made a lot of difference.”
Joe Phillips, a former staffer for The Daily Texan, said Singer was always the type of professor and mentor to support students without feeling overbearing.
“Griff was a master at guiding, but not directing,” Phillips said. “And he was more than that. He was somebody you could bounce ideas off of, whether it was story ideas, whether it was personal stuff.”
After his time at UT, Singer went on to work at several news organizations, including the National and Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association, the Texas Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists and the Houston Chronicle.
In 2016, Singer was inducted into the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame, and two years later was inducted into the Friends of The Daily Texan Hall of Fame.
Phillips said Singer’s impact on the people in his life is immeasurable.
“Griff meant so much to so many of us in so many different ways,” Phillips said.
Singer’s legacy is felt throughout the School of Journalism and Media. In 2018, the Griff and Evelyn Singer Foyer was created on the third floor of the DMC. Phillips, Jo Clifton and her late mother, Loretta Diggs Pendergraft, both former journalists, established a scholarship that awards one exemplary Texan staffer a year $2,500, and named it the Singer Scholarship fund.
When the scholarship was established, the Friends of The Daily Texan Board wrote about his accomplishments.
“(Singer) signifies the best of the UT journalism school and has positively impacted thousands of students through the decades,” the Board wrote. “His professional career is outstanding and an indicator of his knowledge and work in metro and community markets. He continues giving back daily to the profession he loves.”
Singer is survived by two children, Mark and Cathy. Singer’s wife, Evelyn, passed away in 2018 after a long battle with cancer.