John Gottschalk

Occupations

Corporate boards

• Omaha World-Herald: Vice president (1980-1986), president (1986-1989), chairman (1989-????)
• McCarthy Group: Board member (????-????)
• ES&S: Board member (????-????)

Political connections

• Bob Kerrey (linked to the Commonwealth Savings scandal)
• Chuck Hagel

Corporate connections

• Harold Andersen - both were Omaha World-Herald executives at the same time, but it's unclear how close they were; at the very least, Gottschalk continued covering up the Franklin scandal which Andersen was implicated in
• Michael McCarthy

External links

• Daily Nonpareil, "Omaha Press Club to honor Gottschalk", 2005/03/16
• 2005 Omaha Press Club newsletter mentioning Gottschalk roast
• The Wayne Stater, "Giving it everything you’ve got", 2015/03/25 - mother was a Civil Air Patrol instructor; sister was a top executive at Merrill Lynch; brother was an attorney for Berkshire Hathaway; and he was recommended for the World-Herald by Harold Andersen himself
• Bob Kerrey connections
  • New York Times, "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Personal Finance; Kerrey's Varied Business Ventures Raise Some Questions About Propriety", 1992/02/15: "If Mr. Kerrey has enemies, he also has significant allies. John Gottschalk, publisher of The Omaha World-Herald, the state's dominant newspaper, is a limited partner in Mr. Kerrey's health clubs and a close friend of the Senator."
  • From p.269-270 of The Franklin Cover-Up by John DeCamp (1996): "Acting as a puppet of forces behind the scenes. Bobby got his start in political life because John Woods and the Omaha business community anointed him to pass their Big Banks bill. While governor, he danced to the tune called by them and by Bill Wright. Today he is controlled by a small circle which includes: John Gottschalk, publisher, Omaha World-Herald, and Kerrey business partner; William Wright, the individual who milked State Security's depositors of millions; Joe R. Seacrest, owner and publisher, Lincoln Journal newspaper; Bill Hoppner, his Chief of Staff who was effectively governor during the first years of Kerrey's administration, until he left the state to go work for Bill Wright in California; and Warren Buffett, billionaire from Omaha and the new CEO of Salomon Brothers."
  • KETV 7, "Kerrey campaign appeals to Republicans in new letter", 2012/10/23: "The Bob Kerrey for Senate campaign tells KETV NewsWatch 7 it is sending a letter from two prominent businessmen to state Republicans in hopes of gaining their support. The letter comes from longtime Kerrey backers Michael McCarthy and John Gottschalk. McCarthy is the leader of McCarthy Capital of Omaha. Gottschalk is the former publisher of the Omaha World-Herald. In the letter, the two businessmen state the overriding need for bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., and the need for experience in the Senate, saying Kerrey is the man for the job."
• Allegedly, Gottschalk is connected to James Baker
  • Historic Omaha, "The Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center: Grand Opening Ceremonies September 1, 2001" - opening comments by then-publisher Gottschalk and a keynote speech by James A. Baker III