John C. Quinn

John C. Quinn spent nearly 50 years in the news business, including serving as the chief news executive for Gannett Co. when USA TODAY was launched, and as USA TODAY’s editor from 1983 until 1988 and its editor-in-chief in 1988 and 1989. In Confessions of an S.O.B. (Doubleday, 1989), Al Neuharth described Quinn as “farseeing and foresighted, hungry but humane, passionate” and noted that Quinn became “the conscience of our company.”

Quinn started his news career as a copy boy at the Providence, R.I., Journal-Bulletin in 1943 and retired as executive vice president/news and director of Gannett Co. in 1990.

He was with the Journal-Bulletin for 23 years, rising to day managing editor when he left in 1966 to join Gannett, where he held news executive roles for 24 years. His Gannett career included serving as chief news executive for Gannett when USA TODAY was launched in 1982 and as USA TODAY’s editor from 1983 until 1988 and its editor-in-chief in 1988 and 1989.

“Next to putting out a good page one, diversifying the staff was one of the most satisfying parts of my job,” Quinn said in a 2002 magazine interview.

“He not only practiced, but preached equal opportunity for everyone,” said Al Neuharth, Gannett’s former chief executive officer and the founder of USA TODAY.

Quinn was president of the Associated Press Managing Editors in 1972 and president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1982.

In 1986, the National Press Foundation named Quinn “editor of the year.” In 1987, the University of Kansas gave Quinn the William Allen White National Citation Award. Quinn also was president of the Gannett News Service in 1980 when it won the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service. In 2002, Proud magazine named him one of “The Most Notable Ambassadors of Diversity.” Quinn was a 2007 recipient of the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media.

After his retirement from Gannett, Quinn became deputy chairman of the Freedom Forum. In 1991, Quinn and his late wife, Loie, established the Freedom Forum’s Chips Quinn Scholars program in memory of their son John C. “Chips” Quinn Jr. To date about 1,100 students of color have participated in the journalism training, internship and scholarship program, with approximately 67 percent of graduates working in the news business today.

Retired publisher John H. McMillan of Salem, Oregon, wrote this about John Quinn:

“John improved the quality of journalism at a great many newspapers, nurtured scores of journalists (including me), forced the nation’s editors to confront racism in their employment practices, insisted the third national newspaper in the United States report comprehensively without respect to the real or imagined opinions of its founder, and, when he retired, created a magnificent program to encourage persons of color in the practice of journalism. Very sadly to me, ‘the media’ never gave him the credit due him because his Uncle Denny had told him not to engage in self-promotion, and he never did.”