John L. Dotson, Jr.

John L. Dotson Jr. Former President and Publisher, Akron Beacon-Journal

"Mr. Dotson was president and publisher of the Akron Beacon Journal, a Knight Ridder newspaper, from June 1992 to June 2001. He is now publisher emeritus. Under his leadership, the Beacon Journal won a Pulitzer Gold Medal for Meritorious Public Service in 1994 for its series on race relations and the launch of Coming Together, a community organization whose mission is to foster better racial relations in Akron.

"In 1995 Mr. Dotson won the John S. Knight Gold Medal, Knight Ridder's highest award for overall achievement, recognizing his efforts in winning the Pulitzer and leading the Beacon Journal to record earnings. He was presented the president's award of the National Association of Black Journalists in 1993 for his exemplary journalistic career. In 1997 he was awarded the distinguished diversity award for lifetime achievement by the National Association of Minority Media Executives.

"Prior to joining the Beacon Journal, for five years Mr. Dotson was president and publisher of the Daily Camera in Boulder, CO. Previously, he was director of night operations at The Philadelphia Inquirer. He also worked in several other business and editorial departments of Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc., publishers of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

"Mr. Dotson joined PNI in 1983 after 17 years at Newsweek, where he held posts as Los Angeles bureau chief and senior editor/news editor in New York. As news editor at Newsweek, Mr. Dotson coordinated the magazine's worldwide network of correspondents for seven years. He also worked at the Newark (NJ) Evening News and Detroit Free Press.

"Mr. Dotson is a founder and for ten years was chairman of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. The institute, now more than 20 years old, has trained more minority journalists than any other organization in the country.

"Mr. Dotson serves on the Board of Visitors of the John S. Knight Fellowship Program and of the school of journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Newspaper Association of America, a former member of the National Advisory Board of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and a former member of the Board of Visitors of the school of journalism at the University of Colorado.

"Mr. Dotson is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia. He and his wife Peggy are the parents of three children."


 * Director, Washington Post Company
 * Journalism Advisory Committee, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation