Giles had major supporters at big city papers, including John Carroll, who turned down the curatorship himself to become editor of the Los Angeles Times, and Sandy Rowe, editor of The Oregonian of Portland, Ore.

Jim Naughton, president of the Poynter Institute, one of the nation's largest journalism think tanks, and Hodding Carter III, president of the Knight Foundation, a large foundation that supports a number of programs related to journalism, also actively supported Giles's candidacy.

Also weighing in with Mass. Hall on Giles's behalf were a group of top officials from the American Society of Newspaper Editors, of which he is a past president; a number of his Nieman classmates from the mid-'60s; and his three children, who wrote to describe the agonies the family went through during the Detroit strike.

Some of this support was the result of a deliberate campaign by the Giles family to get prominent figures in the media industry to lobby Mass. Hall.

Giles's son, David, who is a first amendment attorney in Denver, said that he phoned a number of colleagues in media law and journalists including the editor of a major East Coast paper to urge them to pressure Mass. Hall on his father's behalf.

Giles said that the delay was beneficial in that it allowed for everyone with a viewpoint on his candidacy to have their view considered.

"The delay...enabled those who had comments to offer about my candidacy a chance to have those comments be considered and gave an opportunity for others who thought I was a good candidate to bring their voices into the discussion," he said.