On April 22, 2008, the Postal Service issued five stamps honoring distinguished journalists.
The stamps, designed by Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, Virginia, honor Martha Gellhorn, John Hersey, George Polk, Ruben Salazar, and Eric Sevareid.
Working in radio, television, or print, the journalists reported -- often at great personal sacrifice -- some of the most important stories of the 20th century. They did their part to keep people informed about the world around them.
Art director Howard Paine worked with designer Fred Otnes of West Redding, Connecticut, to create the stamp art. The abstract backgrounds were meant to imply the "worldliness" of the subjects without referring to explicit events. The fragments of text were meant to suggest headlines of articles by or about each journalist.
Thirty million stamps in panes of twenty were printed using the offset process by Ashton Potter (USA), Ltd. (APU), Williamsville, New York.
