From news editor Daniel Silliman: A former news editor, David E. Kucharsky, has died at 93. He started at Christianity Today in 1958, back when the office was about a block from the White House in Washington, DC, and stayed until 1977. I never got the chance to meet him but was saddened, nonetheless, by the news.

Kucharsky did some remarkable things in his life. He traveled the world with Billy Graham and Richard Nixon. He wrote a biography of Jimmy Carter. He brought the world’s attention to the plight of five Christian and Missionary Alliance missionaries who were kidnapped in Vietnam. 

The fact that he worked for CT at all is also remarkable. The magazine has been reporting news my entire life, so it’s easy enough to take for granted. But it was a bold choice that helped set CT apart. It certainly would have been easier for baby CT to stick to commentary and not go to the trouble of reporting on the global evangelical movement. But CT hired Kucharsky, who brought serious journalism experience from United Press International. And before him there was George Burnham, 20-year veteran of newspaper reporting. And afterward, CT hired Richard Ostling, who went on to define religion reporting for Time magazine.

We stand in this tradition today. We’re honored to carry it on and push it forward, reporting faithfully on the people who seek the kingdom.