Jay T. Harris facts for kids

Jay T. Harris was born on December 3, 1948. He is an African-American journalist and a teacher of journalism. He taught at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. He also served as the chairman and publisher of the San Jose Mercury News newspaper in San Jose, California, United States.

Harris describes himself as a "journalistic traditionalist." This means he believes in the classic ways of reporting news. He famously stepped down from his role as publisher because he felt that newspapers were focusing too much on making money. He thought this focus was hurting their important job of serving the public. In 1992, he was honored by being added to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Black Journalists.

About Jay T. Harris

Jay T. Harris was born in Washington D.C. on December 3, 1948. His parents were Richard James Harris and Margaret Estelle Burr Harris.

He went to college and earned special honorary degrees in English. These degrees were from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Santa Clara University in California. While he was a student at Lincoln University, he worked as the editor of the school's student newspaper. Jay Harris is married and has three children. He currently lives in Los Gatos, California.

Jay Harris's Career in Journalism

Jay Harris began his career as a reporter for the Wilmington News-Journal. He worked there from 1970 to 1975. After that, he became a journalism professor. He taught at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago from 1975 to 1982.

In 1982, Harris moved to Washington D.C. There, he worked for the Gannett News Service. He was a news columnist and a national correspondent. This means he wrote articles that were published across the country.

Leadership Roles in Newspapers

In 1985, Jay Harris became the executive editor for the Philadelphia Daily News. An executive editor is a top leader at a newspaper. Later, he joined Knight Ridder, a large company that owned many newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury News.

From 1994 to 2001, Harris was the chairman and publisher of the San Jose Mercury News. This was a very important role. He was in charge of the newspaper's overall operations. He was also promoted to vice president of operations. In this role, he was responsible for nine other newspaper companies.

Why Jay Harris Resigned

On March 19, 2001, Jay Harris officially resigned from his job as publisher of the San Jose Mercury News. He told Knight Ridder that he resigned because he did not agree with their budget plans. These plans would have led to many layoffs, meaning people would lose their jobs. Harris believed these cuts would harm the quality of the newspaper.

He gave a speech explaining his decision. He urged other editors to always put readers first. His main goal was to make sure that both quality and profits were equally important for newspapers. Some other journalists, however, thought his strong beliefs made him too rigid.

After Harris resigned, the San Jose Mercury News worked hard to show it was still focused on quality. That same year, they hired 30 new journalists. This helped them cover the growing Silicon Valley area. In 2002, Jay Harris joined the faculty at the University of Southern California. He taught journalism and communication there.

Important Contributions to Journalism

Jay T. Harris first thought about a career in journalism during a summer internship. This was at the Times-Union in Jacksonville, Florida. He worked on a project that won an award in 1972. It was called the Associated Press Managing Editors' Public Service Award.

Harris is known for making the San Jose Mercury News cover more diverse communities. Under his leadership, the newspaper launched Nuevo Mundo in 1996. This was a newspaper in Spanish. In 1999, they launched Viet Mercury for the large Vietnamese community in the area.

He also helped the newspaper become well-known for covering the rise of the internet. On October 5, 2000, Jay T. Harris gave a speech at Michigan State University. He talked about "Press Freedoms and the Responsibility of Journalists in the age of New Media." This speech discussed how journalism should work in the new digital age.

Jay Harris was seen as one of the top African-American publishers of a daily newspaper in the country. He was known for supporting diversity in newsrooms. During his seven years at the Mercury News, the paper was named one of the top 10 daily papers in the nation. This was by the Columbia Journalism Review. He also created a national survey to track how many minority journalists worked in daily newspapers. This survey is still used today. While at the Mercury News, 30 percent of his news staff were from minority groups.

Impact of His Resignation

In April 2001, Jay Harris spoke to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He explained why he resigned. Richard A. Oppel, a leader at the society, said it was a very important speech.

Around the same time, a report came out from the National Association of Black Journalists. This report talked about how layoffs in the newspaper industry were hurting diversity. On May 10, 2001, Harris wrote an article for Nation magazine. In it, he further explained his reasons for resigning. He argued that newspapers are like hospitals. They have a duty to serve the public. He believed that protecting the public's interests should sometimes be more important than business decisions.

After Harris resigned, Knight Ridder tried to reassure Mercury News employees. They promised to avoid big cutbacks and layoffs. This was to make sure they could still cover Silicon Valley well.

Awards and Recognition

Jay T. Harris has received several awards for his work:

• Associated Press Award (1972)
• NABJ, Hall of Fame (1992)
• NABJ, Ida B. Wells Award Winner (1992)

See also

• National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame