# William Serrin

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**William G. Serrin Jr.** (March 16, 1939 – February 22, 2018) was an American journalist for the *[Detroit Free Press](/source/Detroit_Free_Press)* and *[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)*.

Born in [Saginaw, Michigan](/source/Saginaw,_Michigan), Serrin graduated from [Central Michigan University](/source/Central_Michigan_University) in 1961. He began working for [Booth Newspapers](/source/Booth_Newspapers) in 1964, and joined the *[Detroit Free Press](/source/Detroit_Free_Press)* staff two years later. In 1967, the *Free Press* won a [Pulitzer Prize for Local General or Spot News Reporting](/source/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Local_General_or_Spot_News_Reporting) for its coverage of the [Detroit riot](/source/1967_Detroit_riot) to which Serrin contributed. Serrin's reporting on the [Kent State shooting](/source/Kent_State_shooting) of 1970 was honored with a [George Polk Award](/source/George_Polk_Award). In 1971, he shared [The Hillman Prize](/source/The_Hillman_Prize) with [Carolyn See](/source/Carolyn_See), Kenneth Lasson, [Robert Coles](/source/Robert_Coles_(psychiatrist)), and Richard Todd. In 1973, Serrin published his first book, The Company and the Union, which detailed the relationship between General Motors and the United Auto Workers. Serrin worked for the *[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)* from 1979 to 1986, when he left to begin work on his second book.[1] Prior to publication in 1993, *Homestead: The Glory and Tragedy of An American Steel Town* was reviewed by [Robert Reich](/source/Robert_Reich) in the *New York Times* and [Samuel G. Freedman](/source/Samuel_G._Freedman) in the *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*.[2][3]

Serrin later taught at [New York University](/source/New_York_University) School of Journalism. Upon retirement in 2014, he was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. Serrin received an equivalent honor from his alma mater, Central Michigan University.[1][4] Serrin died of a [heart attack](/source/Myocardial_infarction) on February 22, 2018, at home in [Boca Raton, Florida](/source/Boca_Raton,_Florida), aged 78.[5]

## References

1. ["William Serrin"](http://j-school.jrn.msu.edu/halloffame/william-serrin/). Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

1. Reich, Robert (November 8, 1992). ["On the Slag Heap of History"](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/08/books/on-the-slag-heap-of-history.html). *New York Times*. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

1. Freedman, Samuel (November 22, 1992). ["Sweat, steel and suicide"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-22-bk-1805-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

1. ["William G. Serrin"](http://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/saginaw/obituary.aspx?n=william-g-serrin&pid=188296384&fhid=13749). *Saginaw News*. mlive.com. February 27, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

1. ["William Serrin, Free Press Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, dies at 78"](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/03/01/william-serrin-detroit-free-press-reporter-dies/385767002/). *Detroit Free Press*. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

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