By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A long-time White House correspondent for the Post-Dispatch died Sunday of liver cancer; James Deakin was 77.
He lived in Rhode Island, where the ever-writer dictated his own obituary three weeks ago.
Deakin's critical reporting put him on Richard Nixon's "enemies list" and earned angry rebukes from Lyndon Johnson. He covered the White House from 1958-1980 for the Post-Dispatch, and also wrote several books. One of the best-known was "Straight Stuff: The Reporters, The White House and the Truth."
Deakin's son, David, said his father was living in a nursing home near his Barrington, Rhode Island, home.
A private burial is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Barrington. A memorial service will be held in several weeks.