Martin Tolchin, the founding publisher of The Hill and a 40-year veteran of The New York Times who covered New York’s City Hall and Congress and wrote several books on the power of patronage in politics, died at the age of 93, reports The Hill.

The Hill post also stated that Tolchin — “known by all as Marty — was a gifted storyteller with a sense of humor and mischief who relished revealing the behind-the-scenes machinations, self-serving motives and personal quirks of the people in power he covered.

“He had an illustrious career at the Times, where he received the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress in 1982 and covered the Iran-Contra affair and the Anita Hill hearings.

“Tolchin retired from the Times in 1994 to found The Hill later that same year.”

More here.