Wick Allison facts for kids

Lodowick Brodie Cobb "Wick" Allison (March 17, 1948 – September 1, 2020) was an American publisher and writer. He was best known for owning D Magazine, a popular monthly magazine about the Dallas–Fort Worth area. He helped start this magazine in 1974. Wick Allison also owned People Newspapers and led a non-profit group called the American Ideas Institute, which published The American Conservative magazine.

Wick Allison's Early Life and Family

Wick Allison was born in Dallas, Texas, on March 17, 1948. His family had lived in Texas for many generations. He went to the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1971. While there, he was the editor of the student humor magazine The Texas Ranger. He also studied American history and culture.

After college, he worked for a short time at the White House. He helped a special group look into problems on college campuses. Later, he joined the United States Army. He also attended the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. There, he created the business plan for D Magazine before leaving the school.

Allison married Christine Peterson in 1983. They had four daughters: Gillea, Maisie, Chrissie, and Loddie. Their daughter Chrissie was born with Down syndrome. Doctors suggested she might need to live in a special care facility. However, Wick and Christine chose to bring her home and raise her themselves.

Wick Allison passed away on September 1, 2020, at his home in the Catskill Mountains. He was 72 years old. He had been battling bladder cancer for over ten years.

Wick Allison's Career in Publishing

Starting and Running Magazines

In 1974, Wick Allison helped start D Magazine, a monthly magazine focused on Dallas. He had support from a Dallas investor named Ray Lee Hunt. A few years later, in 1981, he and other investors bought Sport Magazine. They sold it three years later.

In 1984, Allison started another magazine called Art & Antiques. The next year, a famous writer named William F. Buckley Jr. asked Allison to join the board of directors for National Review magazine. Allison later became its publisher in 1988. He sold his company, Allison Publications, which published Art & Antiques, around 1981 or 1982. He left National Review in 1993.

Two years later, Allison and investor Harlan Crow bought D Magazine back. By 2001, Allison bought out Crow and became the only owner of the magazine company.

Writing and Other Projects

Wick Allison also worked on books. He edited a new version of The Bible To Be Read As Living Literature, which was published in 1993. He also wrote his own books, including That's In The Bible? (2009) and Condemned To Repeat It (1998), which he co-wrote.

In 2013, Allison launched a TV show called D: The Broadcast. It was a two-hour daily morning talk show on a local Dallas TV station, KTXD. However, D Magazine stopped being involved with the show later that same year.

Wick Allison's Political Ideas

Wick Allison shared his political views in D Magazine. In September 2008, he wrote an article called "A Conservative For Obama." In this article, he supported Barack Obama for president, even though Obama was a Democrat and Allison was known as a conservative.

In May 2011, he changed his mind about his support. He said he was disappointed with both major US political parties. However, in September 2012, Allison told The Daily Beast that he would probably vote for Obama again. He felt that the other candidate, Mitt Romney, was not truly conservative. Allison believed Obama had done a good job, especially given the strong opposition from the other political party in Congress.

See also

In Spanish: Wick Allison para niños