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- BIOGRAPHY:
Allen H. Neuharth (born March 22, 1924, Eureka, South Dakota) is an American businessman, author, and columnist. He is the founder of USA Today.
Neuharth graduated high school from Alpena High School, Alpena, SD, where he was editor of the school's newspaper. At the age of 19, Neuharth served in the Army in World War II. As a member of the U.S. 86th Infantry Division, Neuharth was deployed to France, Germany and the Philippines.
Education
After the war, Neuharth went to the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he edited the school newspaper, The Volante. He maintains an affiliation with the university and has an office in the Contemporary Media and Journalism building, The Al Neuharth Media Center. He offers a scholarship called "The Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship" honoring graduating high school students who exemplify the qualities of a 'free spirit' and aim to pursue a career in journalism.
News career
Neuharth and fellow USD alum Bill Porter founded SoDak Sports, a weekly newspaper devoted to covering the sports scene in South Dakota. Despite its initial popularity, SoDak went bankrupt in a year's time.
After his failure, Neuharth went to the Miami Herald, where he made his way up to assistant managing editor. In 1960, the Knight newspaper chain (later a part of Knight-Ridder), which owned the Herald, sent him to its Detroit Free Press, which was fighting an uphill battle with the Detroit News, which Neuharth would later buy while at Gannett.[1]
After Neuharth realized that he could go no further in the Knight organization due to the Knight family's complete control, he accepted Gannett head Paul Miller's offer to move to Gannett's HQ in Rochester, New York, first to run its paper there, the Democrat and Chronicle; then to run the boardroom under Miller, who he eventually succeeded in 1973.[1] He helped to build Gannett into the largest newspaper company in the U.S.
Neuharth took charge of Gannett Florida in 1966. He started "Today" in Cocoa, Florida which eventually became Florida Today].[2]. The color schemes used in Florida Today became an inspiration for the initial format for USA Today.
USA Today
Neuharth founded USA Today in 1982, the most widely read newspaper in the country.[3] Neuharth retired from Gannett on March 31, 1989, at the age of 65.
Column
Neuharth's columns attempt to provoke controversy; so much so that he offers space for one sentence rebuttals and defense from outsiders.
On December 22, 2004, Neuharth called for American troops to be brought home from the "ill-advised adventures" in Iraq, which he compared to the immorality of the Vietnam war. Neuharth also stated that if he were eligible for service in Iraq, he would do everything possible to avoid it.
Freedom Forum
Neuharth founded and has served as chairman of the Freedom Forum since 1991.
Quotes
"We in the media could help [the insurance situation] if we put in proper perspective long range hurricane forecasts that often are exaggerated and play into insurers' hands."[4]
Family
Neuharth had two adult children from his first marriage to Loretta.[5] The marriage lasted 26 years. He bought property on the beach in 1973 on which he built his current home.[6]
He was divorced by 1987 and living in Cocoa Beach, Florida.[7] His second wife was Lori Wilson, who became a Florida state senator. Their marriage lasted seven years. He is married to Dr. Rachel Fornes, a Cocoa Beach, Florida, chiropractor. They adopted eight children.[3] Neuharth also fathered an out-of-wedlock daughter, Rosamunda Neuharth-Ozgo, but never acknowledged her.[8][9]
He resides in Cocoa Beach, Florida.[10]
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1924 - 2013 (89 years)
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