Here is a press release from the Freedom Forum.
I downloaded the press release from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland
at 410-363-0834. I do not work for or belong to the Freedom Forum.
USA Today's Prichard Named Executive Director of Newseum
Contact: Jerry W. Friedheim, 703-284-3520, or Cheryl Arvidson,
703-284-3507, both of The Freedom Forum
ARLINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Peter Prichard, editor of
USA TODAY since 1988, today was named executive director of The
Freedom Forum's Newseum, a $30 million museum attraction focusing
on news effective Jan. 1, 1995.
Prichard also will become a senior vice president of The Freedom
Forum, according to Charles L. Overby, president of The Freedom
Forum and The Newseum.
Overby also announced the following promotions, effective on
Jan. 1, 1995:
-- Gerald M. Sass, formerly senior vice president, will become
executive vice president, the no. 2 job at The Freedom Forum, and
will work with Overby in coordinating programs at the World Center
in Arlington;
-- Christine Wells, who had been vice president in charge of
oth The Newseum and international operations, will become senior
vice president of international operations.
-- Everette E. Dennis, executive director of The Freedom Forum
Media Studies Center at Columbia University in New York and a vice
president, will become senior vice president as head of the
foundation's largest operating program.
"Prichard's excellent news instincts and people-oriented
management style make him uniquely qualified to direct the most
exciting news project of this decade," Overby said.
"I helped build one of the world's leading newspapers, and now
I have an opportunity to help lead what promises to be one of the
world's great museums. USA TODAY changed the nation's newspapers,
and I see the same potential in the start-up of The Newseum, which
will be the world's only museum dedicated to news," Prichard said.
Allen H. Neuharth, chairman of The Freedom Forum and The Newseum
and founder of USA TODAY, praised Prichard for his leadership at
USA TODAY and predicted he will give The Newseum the same
excitement and credibility he provided at USA TODAY.
"Peter helped shape USA TODAY for the future," Neuharth said.
"He will use his reader-oriented instincts to give Newseum visitors
an experience that is informative and entertaining."
"Chris Wells helped guide The Newseum through its concept
development," Overby said. "Prichard will be responsible for
developing and carrying out the implementation plan."
The Newseum, a one-of-a-kind educational facility, is currently
under construction at The Freedom Forum World Center headquarters
in Arlington. Scheduled to open in 1997, it will tell the story of
the past, present and future of news through historic artifacts and
state-of-the-art multimedia displays. Adjoining the Newseum will
be a 68,000-square-foot area named Freedom Park that will feature
a collection of freedom icons, a memorial to journalists who died
while covering the news and a tribute to journalism pioneers.
Prichard has been editor of USA TODAY since Oct. 1, 1988. At
the end of 1988, the circulation of the national newspaper was
1,656,467. In his more than six years as editor, the newspaper's
average daily circulation has climbed to 2,007,375, an increase of
21 percent. In 1993-94, the newspaper won 24 awards for journalism
excellence.
A 1966 graduate of Dartmouth College, Prichard began his
journalism career in 1970 at the Greenwich (Conn.) Time, where he
was a copy editor and then assistant to the editor. He joined
Gannett in 1972 as a reporter at the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and
Chronicle, where he was the first journalist to win two first-place
awards in one year from the New York State Bar Association for
reporting on drug use and the criminal justice system.
In 1975, he joined WOKR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Rochester, as
associate news director and producer of the 6 p.m. newscast. He
returned to the Gannett Rochester Newspapers in 1976 as a reporter
and television columnist for The Times-Union. In 1978, he joined
the Gannett corporate staff as an assistant to Neuharth, then
president and CEO of Gannett.
When USA TODAY was launched in 1982, Prichard was named columns
editor of the editorial page. He was promoted to deputy editorial
director in 1983, and then associate editorial director in 1984,
with responsibility for the editorial pages under Editorial
Director John Seigenthaler.
In 1987, Prichard wrote "The Making of McPaper, The Inside Story
of USA TODAY," which sold 28,000 copies in hardcover and was named
one of the best journalism books of 1988 by Kappa Tau Alpha, the
National Journalism Scholarship Society. The book has been
translated into several languages and is used in journalism courses
in universities.
Prichard then returned to USA TODAY where he held a succession
of newsroom management jobs, including responsibility for the
newspaper's coverage of the 1988 election, before being named
editor. He also became chief news executive for Gannett on April
26, 1990.
A member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors since
1984, Prichard has chaired several committees, including the
Freedom of Information, Program and Issues committees. He is a
member of the Advisory Committee of the Nieman Foundation, which
selects journalists for mid-career fellowships at Harvard
University. He is a member of the board of directors of the
National Press Foundation, and was vice chairman of the Washington
Journalism Center, which offers continuing education to journalists
through regular seminars.
He is also a member of the advisory board of The Nelson A.
Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College,
and he has served on the board of visitors of Howard University's
Department of Journalism. He is a member of the Free Spirit Awards
committee of The Freedom Forum, which selects recipients for the
Forum's highest award.
Prichard has served twice as a Pulitzer Prize juror, and in
1993, he chaired the jurors' committee for the National Reporting
category of the Pulitzer competition.
He is a former chairman of the Freedom of Information Committee
of the Society of Professional Journalists and past president of
the Rochester SPJ chapter, and he is a member of the National Press
Club.
Prichard is the recipient of several professional awards,
including the distinguished service award from the National
Association of Secondary School Principals for USA TODAY's
contributions to education coverage; and alumni award for
distinguished service in journalism and public affairs from The
Dartmouth, the campus daily in Hanover, N.H.; and a distinguished
professional achievement award from the University of Maryland
Journalism school. He speaks frequently on journalism issues to a
variety of groups.
Born in Auburn, Calif., on Dec. 18, 1944, Prichard grew up in
Thief River Falls, Minn. He served thirteen-and-a-half months in
Vietnam with the U.S. Army as an intelligence adviser to the South
Vietnamese Army in the Mekong Delta. He was awarded the Bronze
Star and the South Vietnamese Army Staff Service Medal. He and his
wife, Ann, have two children and live in Washington, D.C.
In regard to the other promotions, Overby said the announcement
of the senior management team will help give The Freedom Forum's
journalism programs more cohesion and a tighter focus.
Sass has been senior vice president since 1989. From 1977 to
1989, Sass was head of The Freedom Forum's education department and
was named vice president/education in 1981. He joined Gannett
Rochester Newspapers in Rochester, N.Y. as personnel director in
1966 and was named director of personnel for Gannett in 1971.
Dennis has been vice president since 1989 and executive director
of The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center since 1984. Dennis was
previously dean of the School of Journalism at the University of
Oregon, Eugene. He also has taught journalism at the University of
Minnesota and Kansas State University, Manhattan. He has written
or edited numerous books and articles on the media, media law and
journalism.
Wells has been vice president/international operations since
1991 and executive director of The Newseum since 1993. Wells was
vice president/administration from 1989 to 1991. She was
previously chief-of-staff and special assistant to Neuharth, who
was then chairman of Gannett. She served as logistics/operations
director for JetCapade, Neuharth's worldwide reporting tour for USA
TODAY. She was also Gannett's director of library services,
manager/library director for USA TODAY and head librarian at the
Lansing (Mich.) State Journal.
For more information, contact Jerry W. Friedheim, vice president
of public affairs at The Freedom Forum, 703-284-3520, or Cheryl
Arvidson, media relations director at The Freedom Forum,
703-284-3507.
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