John Collins Quinn (24 October 1925 – 11 July 2017) was an American journalist and the former president of

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''.

Personal

Quinn was born on October 24, 1925, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, to Kathryn and John A. Quinn. He attended

Classical High School Classical High School, founded in 1843, is a public magnet school in the Providence School District, in Providence, Rhode Island. It was originally an all-male school but has since become co-ed. Classical's motto is ''Certare, Petere, Reperire, ...

in Providence and graduated in 1942. He graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

in 1945, and earned his master's degree from the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

School of Journalism in 1946. He married his wife, Lois Richardson, in 1953, and remained married until her death in 2005. The couple had 3 sons, John C. "Chips" Quinn Jr., Richard Burnham "RB" Quinn, and Christopher A. "Kiffer" Quinn, and a daughter, Lo-anne Quinn. Chips died in 1990 in a car crash, and the Chips Quinn Scholars Program, created by the Quinns to offer journalism students scholarships, training, and internships, was named in his honor. Kiffer died in 2014 due to an illness.

Career

While at Providence College, Quinn worked at the Providence ''Journal Bulletin'', starting out as a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

. By the time he left the ''Bulletin'' in 1966 to join Gannett, he had worked his way up to being the managing editor. Quinn started his tenure with Gannett as executive editor of two Rochester, New York newspapers, the ''

Democrat and Chronicle The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. At 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production fa ...

'' and the '' Times-Union,'' until becoming an editor for ''

'' when it was founded in 1982. Quinn served as an editor for USA Today until 1988, when he became editor-in-chief. During his time with Gannett, he was the President of Gannett News Service and vice president of news for Gannett Company. Among Quinn's many other endeavors as a journalist, he was president of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

Managing Editors from 1972 to 1973, and also the president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors from 1982 to 1983 Quinn retired from Gannett in 1990, 47 years to the day he started working for the ''Journal Bulletin''. Quinn was inducted into the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame a month after his retirement. Following Gannett, he became a chairman for the Freedom Fourm.

Legacy

In 1980, while president of Gannett News Service, the company won the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service. Quinn believed that "there is no lessening in diversity." Following his son's death in 1990, Quinn and his wife founded the Chips Quinn Scholars Program. This program offers scholarships, internships, and training to college journalism students of color. Since the program's launch in 1991, there have been more than 1,300 scholarship winners, many of them working at major newspapers. According to a Chips Quinn Scholar, Quinn said that "journalism is the most fun you could have with your clothes on." Quinn had a lasting impact on many editors throughout the country. According to former '' Courier-Journal'' editor Bennie Ivory, Quinn was "the conscience of Gannett for many years, having inspired the most aggressive diversity movement of the 20th century." According to former ''Detroit News'' publisher Mark Silverman, Quinn was "clearly one of the most influential and innovative journalists of his generation. He was a true champion of diversity, an articulate voice for quality journalism, and a friend of everyone he recruited or mentored. In a company always racing into the future, John was the voice of quality and of doing the right thing."

Death

John C. Quinn died on July 11, 2017, at Roberts Health Center in

North Kingstown North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 census. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of American portraitist Gilbe ...

, Rhode Island at the age of 91. His health had been "failing for some time" and he died of natural causes.

Awards

* Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame (1975) *

National Press Foundation The National Press Foundation is a nonprofit journalism training organization. It educates journalists on complex issues and trains them in reporting tools and techniques. It recognizes and encourages excellence in journalism through its awards. ...

Editor of the Year (1986) *

Women in Communications The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry. History Theta Sigma Phi The Association for Women in Communications began in 1909 as Theta Sigma Phi (), an ho ...

Headliner Award (1986) * William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit (1987) * Paul Miller/

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

Medallion (1988) * Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame (1990) *

NABJ The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...

Award (1992)

References

External links

National Association of Black Journalists
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, John C. 1925 births 2017 deaths Journalists from Rhode Island Classical High School alumni Providence College alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Presidents of the American Society of News Editors