Sidney Zion

Biography

Zion graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School, working as a trial lawyer until becoming Assistant US Attorney for New Jersey in 1961. He then turned to journalism and writing novels. He worked for various New York publications, including The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post and New York Magazine. In 1971, Zion revealed that Daniel Ellsberg was the source of the Pentagon Papers, the classified study on the history of United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. It detailed the Johnson Administration's deceit in Vietnam, and at that time was being published by the Times and The Washington Post. Zion, who was not affiliated with any news organization at the time, made the revelation on a popular New York City radio show. Many journalists regarded his disclosure of Ellsberg's identity as a breach of professional ethics, and Zion said he was considered a "pariah" by journalism colleagues for several years afterward.

He was a recipient of the Ben Hecht Journalism Award. He was married to Elsa H. Zion; their daughter, Libby Zion, died at age 18 in New York Hospital. Her death and the subsequent investigation and trial led to improvements in hospital residents' working conditions. Sidney Zion died in 2009 after a brief battle with cancer.

He owned a steakhouse during the early 1980s called Broadway Joe that catered to theater people. It was located on West 46th Street.

Zion was Jewish and a Zionist who believed very strongly in the state of Israel.

Zion served on the Board of Directors (as well as council) of The Players in New York City, fighting anti-smoking laws passed during the Bloomberg Administration, believing those laws to be unconstitutional.