John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television.
Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis School.
[1] Gould's columns and reviews (along with those of rival John Crosby of the Herald Tribune) were widely read by decision-makers in the fledgling medium of television,[2] and Gould had many professional and personal relationships with prominent industry figures such as Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly.
He did not hold back harsh criticism, even when The New York Times itself produced its own public affairs program in 1963;[3] He was aware of the potential power of television as a force for social good.
[1] Gould lived on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village[4] and later in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, where, according to his obituary in The New York Times, his office contained "a shortwave radio, two telephones, a small black book of unlisted telephone numbers, and a typewriter".