Kenneth P. Johnson
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Parker Johnson was an American
newspaper editor. Johnson was best known for his efforts in the 1970s and 1980s to build the Dallas Times Herald
into one of the nation's most respected newspapers, which ultimately failed when the paper was purchased by its rival The Dallas Morning News
in 1991 and promptly shut down.
Johnson was born on August 24, 1934 in Huntington, West Virginia
and graduated in 1953 from high school in Bristol, Tennessee
. After completing high school, he took a job as a copyboy with the Bristol Herald Courier
of Bristol, Virginia
. He attended what is now East Tennessee State University
. He worked for the newspaper while he was in college, serving in a succession of posts as sports writer, general assignments reporter, city editor and night editor. After graduating from college in 1960, he was hired as the chief copy editor of the Savannah Morning News
in Georgia, and was promoted to city editor and was named managing editor of the paper at age 25, within six months of his hire at the Morning News.
Johnson moved to Washington, D.C.
in 1965, where he spent a year as an assistant to George Elliott Hagan
, a Democratic Party
member of Congress from Georgia
. He was hired as night city editor by The Washington Post
in 1966, and followed with a series of promotions to news editor, night managing editor, assistant production director, assistant general manager and vice president for operations.
Johnson moved to Dallas in 1975 when he was named executive editor of the Dallas Times Herald. Johnson launched an effort to improve the paper's journalistic standards that resulted in the paper earning two Pulitzer Prize
s; Erwin H. Hagler's feature photography for a series on the Western cowboy in 1980 and James B. Dickman's feature photography of life and death in El Salvador in 1983. A bitter competition arose between the Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News that improved reporting across the state but placed both publications in financial difficulty. Investigative coverage by the paper under Johnson included reports on police brutality, imbalances in city property tax appraisals and recruiting violations across football teams in the Southwest Conference. Johnson hired Bill Keller
, later executive editor of The New York Times
, and newspaper columnist / political commentator Molly Ivins
. Johnson remained at the Times Herald until 1984.
The Times Herald planned to print a story that would expose someone as a double agent of U.S. and Soviet intelligence. The article's subject threatened that he would commit suicide if the article was published and followed through on his threat after Johnson made the decision and the paper went ahead and printed the story in February 1976. Johnson stated that "if a story is newsworthy and supported by the facts, it is our policy to publish." The article's subject, Norman J. Rees, committed suicide by a gunshot wound in the head after the article was printed.
In 1985, Johnson formed Westward Communications together with Will D. Jarrett, his former editor at the Times Herald, which bought a series of 41 newspapers and nine shoppers in Arkansas
, Colorado
, Louisiana
and Texas
, primarily in small towns. The business bought newspapers with printing presses and then followed by buying surrounding papers that could be printed on the presses already purchased, in a hub and spoke model. The group was sold for an estimated $80 million in 1997, with Mary Walton of American Journalism Review
estimating that Johnson and his partner each netted as much as $25 million from the deal, though these numbers were unconfirmed.
Johnson died at age 74 on November 2, 2008 in Dallas of a heart infection at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newspaper editor. Johnson was best known for his efforts in the 1970s and 1980s to build the Dallas Times Herald
Dallas Times Herald
The Dallas Times Herald, founded in 1888 by a merger of the Dallas Times and the Dallas Herald, was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, and two George Polk Awards, for local and regional reporting...
into one of the nation's most respected newspapers, which ultimately failed when the paper was purchased by its rival The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
in 1991 and promptly shut down.
Johnson was born on August 24, 1934 in Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
and graduated in 1953 from high school in Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...
. After completing high school, he took a job as a copyboy with the Bristol Herald Courier
Bristol Herald Courier
The Bristol Herald Courier is a 39,000 circulation daily newspaper owned by Richmond, Virginia-based Media General, Inc. The newspaper is located in Bristol, Virginia, a small city located in Southwest Virginia on the Tennessee border....
of Bristol, Virginia
Bristol, Virginia
Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....
. He attended what is now East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University is an accredited American university located in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is part of the Tennessee Board of Regents system of colleges and universities, the nation's sixth largest system of public education, and is the fourth largest university in the state...
. He worked for the newspaper while he was in college, serving in a succession of posts as sports writer, general assignments reporter, city editor and night editor. After graduating from college in 1960, he was hired as the chief copy editor of the Savannah Morning News
Savannah Morning News
The Savannah Morning News is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Morris Communications, Inc. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry"...
in Georgia, and was promoted to city editor and was named managing editor of the paper at age 25, within six months of his hire at the Morning News.
Johnson moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1965, where he spent a year as an assistant to George Elliott Hagan
George Elliott Hagan
George Elliott Hagan was an American politician, businessman and farmer.Hagan was born in Sylvania, Georgia and attended the University of Georgia University of Georgia in Athens. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives for five terms and the Georgia Senate for one term...
, a Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of Congress from Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. He was hired as night city editor by The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
in 1966, and followed with a series of promotions to news editor, night managing editor, assistant production director, assistant general manager and vice president for operations.
Johnson moved to Dallas in 1975 when he was named executive editor of the Dallas Times Herald. Johnson launched an effort to improve the paper's journalistic standards that resulted in the paper earning two Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
s; Erwin H. Hagler's feature photography for a series on the Western cowboy in 1980 and James B. Dickman's feature photography of life and death in El Salvador in 1983. A bitter competition arose between the Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News that improved reporting across the state but placed both publications in financial difficulty. Investigative coverage by the paper under Johnson included reports on police brutality, imbalances in city property tax appraisals and recruiting violations across football teams in the Southwest Conference. Johnson hired Bill Keller
Bill Keller
Bill Keller is a writer for the The New York Times, of which Keller was the executive editor from July 2003 until September 2011. On June 2, 2011, Keller announced that he would step down from the position to become a full-time writer...
, later executive editor of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and newspaper columnist / political commentator Molly Ivins
Molly Ivins
Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins was an American newspaper columnist, populist, political commentator, humorist and author.-Early life and education:Ivins was born in Monterey, California, and raised in Houston, Texas...
. Johnson remained at the Times Herald until 1984.
The Times Herald planned to print a story that would expose someone as a double agent of U.S. and Soviet intelligence. The article's subject threatened that he would commit suicide if the article was published and followed through on his threat after Johnson made the decision and the paper went ahead and printed the story in February 1976. Johnson stated that "if a story is newsworthy and supported by the facts, it is our policy to publish." The article's subject, Norman J. Rees, committed suicide by a gunshot wound in the head after the article was printed.
In 1985, Johnson formed Westward Communications together with Will D. Jarrett, his former editor at the Times Herald, which bought a series of 41 newspapers and nine shoppers in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, primarily in small towns. The business bought newspapers with printing presses and then followed by buying surrounding papers that could be printed on the presses already purchased, in a hub and spoke model. The group was sold for an estimated $80 million in 1997, with Mary Walton of American Journalism Review
American Journalism Review
The American Journalism Review is a U.S. magazine covering topics in journalism. It is published six times a year by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. The AJR has been owned since the late 1980s by a foundation of the university...
estimating that Johnson and his partner each netted as much as $25 million from the deal, though these numbers were unconfirmed.
Johnson died at age 74 on November 2, 2008 in Dallas of a heart infection at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is one of the biomedical research institutions of the University of Texas System, incorporating three degree-granting institutions, four affiliated hospitals, including Parkland Memorial, the teaching hospital, and biomedical research...
.