John Hughes (editor)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2022) |
John Hughes | |
---|---|
Born | Neath, Wales | 28 April 1930
Died | 14 December 2022 | (aged 92)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Journalist |
Robert John Hughes (28 April 1930 – 14 December 2022) was a British-born American journalist, a
Biography
Childhood
Hughes was born on 28 April 1930 in Neath, Wales, the only child of Evan and Dellis May Hughes. He was raised in London[1] and attended the Ancient Literary Company Trade School. During World War II, both of Hughes' parents contributed to the war effort – his father was drafted into the British Army and served in North Africa for three years. His mother was conscripted into the Government Post Office during that time as well. Following the war, the entire family moved to South Africa.
Education, early career, and Pulitzer
At the age of 16, Hughes started his first job as a reporter at
In 1955, at the age of 25, Hughes moved to United States and began working in
His achievements were readily recognized by The Christian Science Monitor, and he was promoted to Managing Editor, a position which he held for nine years from 1970 to 1979, until he was promoted to Editor and Manager. During his three-year stint as Editor and Manager, Hughes became interested in owning his own newspaper.
Newspaper ownership and political involvement
His initial purchase was a weekly paper in
Shortly before Ronald Reagan was elected president, Hughes received a call from one of Reagan's advisors, asking him what Reagan should say in his acceptance speech, should he be elected. Hughes offered some ideas, which were remembered and used. Shortly after Reagan was elected, Hughes was asked to move to Washington D.C. to serve in Reagan's administration from 1981 to 1985.
Hughes initially served as the Associate Director of the United States Information Agency, and was later appointed the director of the Voice of America.[2] While serving in that capacity, he received a phone call from George Shultz inviting Hughes to be the spokesman for the State Department and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. Back in Orleans, the joke among editors and reporters in the Cape Cod Oracle newsroom was, "poor John Hughes: he can't hold down a job for more than six months," according to Dwight Shepard, who Hughes tapped to be the editor of his weeklies while he was in Washington. Needless to say, each of these changes were promotions.
Following four years in Washington D.C., Hughes returned to Massachusetts where his newspapers were flourishing. He resumed his control of the companies, but eventually sold them when neither of his children wanted to fill his position.
Hughes was then asked by The Christian Science Monitor to be in charge of a
In 1991, he was asked to chair President
Hughes then accepted an offer from
In 1996,
Later years
Hughes went to South Africa in 2007 to make a presentation to local media organizations.[4] In 2011 he received the National Council for International Visitors' Citizen Diplomat Media Award.[2] As of 2012 he continued to write a column[5] for the Christian Science Monitor. In 2014, he published an autobiography, Paper Boy to Pulitzer, which he said he wrote for his children and grandchildren, and because “I thought I had a love story in me, and it’s about journalism. The greatest profession in the world.”[1]
Personal life and death
Hughes and his wife Peggy, a BYU alumnus, had a child, Evan. He had two other children, Mark and Wendy, through an earlier marriage to the late Libby Hughes. He had six grandchildren.
Hughes died on 14 December 2022, at the age of 92.[6]
Writings
- The New Face of Africa, 1961
- Indonesian Upheaval, 1967
- The End of Sukarno – A Coup that Misfired: A Purge that Ran Wild, 2002, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-65-9
- Paper Boy to Pulitzer, 2014, ISBN 1891331477
References
- Collins, Keith S. (2012). The Christian Science Monitor: Its History, Mission, and People. Nebbadoon Press.
- "Department Welcomes John Hughes to Faculty.” Comms Alumni Magazine. Brigham Young University. 2007:31.
- Article on Hughes being Assistant Secretary General of the UN
- BYU School of Communications wiki
Citations
- ^ a b c d Benson, Lee (13 July 2014). "About Utah: It was never about him". Deseret News.
- ^ a b c Cortez, Marjorie (23 February 2011). "Former Deseret News editor John Hughes to be honored as 'citizen diplomat'". Deseret News. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "R. John Hughes - Pulitzer Journalist - Ink Hughes". Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/wwwhnews070828c.html[permanent dead link]
- ^ Commentary - John Hughes
- ^ "Pulitzer Prize winner, former Deseret News editor John Hughes dies". Deseret News. 16 December 2022.