Hollybush Summit reporter, lobbyist donates copies of memoir to library

Longtime reporter and lobbyist Leon Zimmerman, who in 1967 covered the historic Hollybush Summit at Glassboro State College, returned to campus Nov. 12 to present copies of his new memoir to the University library and the Rowan Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship (RIPPAC).

“From Bylines to Storylines” reflects on Zimmerman's six-decade career in news and consulting, but its centerpiece revisits one of his earlier and most memorable assignments: covering the Summit.

In the summer of 1967, The Record (of Hackensack), then one of the state’s most prominent daily newspapers, sent Zimmerman to report on the Cold War talks between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin, a gathering that drew international attention as thousands flooded the streets surrounding Hollybush Mansion, then the official home to the college’s president.

Armed with notepads and an official cloth press pass – which he has since donated to Rowan’s archives in Hollybush – Zimmerman filed more than a dozen stories over the course of the summit, June 23-25.

“We dictated everything over the phone in those days, even punctuation,” said Zimmerman, who recalled a bank of payphones outside Esbjornson Gym for visiting reporters to call their stories in. “And after it ended, everyone went home and we were on to the next story.”

The Montclair State University graduate and lifelong New Jersey resident began his journalism career at 21, dreaming of becoming a sportswriter. After writing for his high school and college newspapers, Zimmerman landed his first professional job with The Record, where he developed a niche covering politics, legislation and campaigns. Within a few years, he became state house bureau chief and, later, politics editor.

With a forward by former Gov. Thomas H. Kean, the memoir includes dozens of stories from Zimmerman’s career in journalism and, later, as a lobbyist.

Still writing almost every day, Zimmerman said the most important qualities for aspiring reporters is trustworthiness and accuracy.

“You can’t write anything you don’t have evidence of,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s just not news.”

“From Bylines to Storylines” is available on Amazon.