Peter S. Prichard

Peter S. Prichard "is president of the Newseum, the interactive museum of news being planned for Washington, D.C.

"He is also the former top editor of USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-circulation newspaper. During his more than six years as editor, from 1988 through 1994, USA TODAY passed the 2-million mark in circulation to become the nation’s largest daily, while winning several national journalism awards.

"In 1995, he joined the Freedom Forum to lead the team of news and museum professionals that built the $50-million Newseum and Freedom Park project in Arlington, Va. The Newseum has won several national awards for its design, its video and interactive productions, and its marketing efforts. From April 1997 until it closed in March 2002, the Newseum attracted more than 2.2 million visitors. In 2007, the Newseum plans to open a much larger facility at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C., across the street from the National Gallery of Art.

"In his more than 25 years as a journalist, Prichard was a sportswriter, a police and court reporter, an assistant city editor, a television producer, a TV columnist, a feature writer, an editorial writer, a political editor and a deputy editorial page editor.

"He also 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 college journalism courses.

"A 1966 graduate of Dartmouth College, Prichard served in Army intelligence in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and was awarded the Bronze Star. He began his journalism career in 1970 as a copy editor at the Greenwich (Conn.) Time. He joined Gannett newspapers in 1972 as a reporter at the Rochester, N.Y., Democrat and Chronicle.

"In the mid-1970s, he produced the 6 p.m. newscast at WOKR-TV in Rochester, and later was a reporter and TV columnist for the Rochester Times-Union. In 1978, he joined the Gannett corporate staff as an assistant to then-Chief Executive Officer Allen H. Neuharth, founder of USA TODAY and the Freedom Forum.

"When USA TODAY was launched in 1982, Prichard was named columns editor of the editorial page. He rose through the ranks and in 1988 became the newspaper’s third top editor, succeeding John C. Quinn. In 1990, he added the additional title of chief news executive of Gannett.

"Prichard is a board member and former chairman of the National Press Foundation, which offers continuing education to journalists through regular seminars. He has been a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors since 1984 and has chaired its Freedom of Information, Program and Issues committees. He serves on the board of the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth College, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial corporate advisory board and the So Others Might Eat corporate advisory board. He also is chair of Jesuit Volunteers International, which places scores of volunteers around the world to serve the poor. He is the recipient of several professional awards."