John Lawrence, Leading Business Journalist, Dies at 70

By: E&P Staff John Lawrence, 70, a leading figure in business journalism, died Monday night at his New York City home of complications from lung cancer.

He worked at The Wall Street Journal, and, during two decades at the Los Angeles Times, he created its stand-alone business section, one of the first in the country. He was known for making business coverage accessible and for pitching business stories for the front page.

He was jailed for one night when, as chief of the Times Washington bureau during the Watergate uproar, he refused to turn over tape recordings of a confidential interview conducted by reporters.

Lawrence left journalism in 1989 to work as vice president for communications for the New York Stock Exchange and, later, Capital Group Companies.