American journalist
William Arthur Hilliard
(May 28, 1927 – January 16, 2017) was an American
journalist
. He was
editor
of
The Oregonian
, the major daily newspaper in
Portland, Oregon
, from 1987 to 1994 and was that newspaper's first
African-American
editor. He was also president of the
American Society of Newspaper Editors
in 1993?94.
Early life and education
[
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]
Hilliard was born on May 28, 1927, in
Chicago
,
[1]
[2]
but lived in
Arkansas
until age 8, then moving to
Portland, Oregon
.
[3]
As a youth, he applied for a job as a
newspaper delivery boy
for
The Oregonian
, but his application was rejected out of concerns that having a
black
delivery boy would not be acceptable to the paper's
white
subscribers.
[2]
[4]
He graduated from
Benson Polytechnic High School
, where he had worked on the school newspaper, and spent a year in the
U.S. Navy
after being drafted at the end of the Second World War.
[3]
Hilliard studied journalism at Vanport College
[3]
(now
Portland State University
) and then the
University of Oregon
, before transferring in 1950
[5]
to
Pacific University
, in
Forest Grove
, from which he graduated in 1952 with a degree in journalism.
[2]
While at Pacific, he was managing editor of the university's then-weekly newspaper,
The Pacific Index
, starting in December 1950,
[6]
and was the paper's elected editor for the 1951?52 school year.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
After leaving Pacific University, Hilliard started the
Portland Challenger
, a weekly publication targeted at the local black population.
[1]
He was publisher and editor until it ceased publication a year and a half later. He took a job as a copy boy at
The Oregonian
with the hope of eventually becoming a general assignment reporter.
Hilliard worked at
The Oregonian
from 1952 to 1994, starting as a
copy boy
, and then rising to clerk,
sports reporter
, religion and general assignment reporter, and in 1965 assistant
city editor
. In 1971, he became city editor, and in 1982 was named executive editor.
[4]
He oversaw the merging of the paper with the
Oregon Journal
in 1982.
[4]
His first big story was the Holt Korean Babylift in 1956. When he was named city editor it was considered national news, warranting an article in
Time Magazine
. In 1980 he served as one of four panelists in the nationally televised debates between President
Jimmy Carter
and
Ronald Reagan
.
[1]
In 1987, Hilliard was named
editor
of
The Oregonian
, with "full control over the newspaper's news and editorial departments."
[2]
He was the newspaper's first
African-American
editor.
[4]
He introduced zoned suburban coverage and expanded coverage of
minorities
issues, as well as increasing the hiring of minorities by the paper. While he was editor two staffers complained to him about how the nicknames of sports teams were demeaning to Native Americans. Under Hilliard's leadership
The Oregonian
stopped using demeaning sports nicknames in 1992, and the newspaper also stopped identifying people by race in crime stories unless absolutely necessary.
[1]
Hilliard served as president of the
American Society of Newspaper Editors
(ASNE) in 1993?94,
[4]
the first African-American to be elected to that position.
[1]
In 1993, he was given the President's Award of the
National Association of Black Journalists
, which called him a role model.
[1]
He remained editor of
The Oregonian
until retiring in 1994,
[4]
although during the last year of his tenure with the paper he gave his designated successor, executive editor
Sandra M. Rowe
, effective control of the editor's duties and focused his attention on ASNE duties.
[3]
In 1998, Hilliard was given the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame Award by the
Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
.
[7]
In 2002, when it was discovered that
USA Today
reporter
Jack Kelley
had fabricated some of his stories,
USA Today
turned to Hilliard, along with veteran editors
John Seigenthaler Sr.
and
Bill Kovach
, to monitor the investigation.
[8]
Death
[
edit
]
Hilliard died on January 16, 2017, in Portland, of congestive heart failure, at the age of 89.
[1]
[9]
[10]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Roberts, Sam (January 20, 2017).
"William A. Hilliard, 89, Pioneering Black Journalist, Dies"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
January 23,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Biography, William A. Hilliard, Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame"
. Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Archived from
the original
on February 4, 2012
. Retrieved
May 17,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Hallman Jr., Tom (May 15, 1994). "William A. Hilliard, Editor Emeritus".
The Oregonian
. p. L1.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Sarasohn, David
.
"William A. Hilliard (1927?2017)"
.
The Oregon Encyclopedia
.
Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^
a
b
"Bill Hilliard To Edit Paper".
The Oregonian
. May 18, 1951. Section 2, p. 9.
- ^
"Post of Editor Given Portlander".
The Oregonian
. December 20, 1950. p. 17.
- ^
"Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame"
. Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
. Retrieved
July 17,
2016
.
- ^
"
'USA Today' Probe Finds Kelley Faked Stories"
.
Editor & Publisher
. Associated Press. March 19, 2004. Archived from
the original
on April 4, 2004
. Retrieved
July 17,
2016
.
- ^
"William Hilliard, former Oregonian editor, dies at 89"
.
KGW
. Associated Press. January 17, 2017. Archived from
the original
on January 18, 2017
. Retrieved
January 19,
2017
.
- ^
Hallman Jr., Tom (January 16, 2017).
"William A. Hilliard, former editor of The Oregonian, has died"
.
The Oregonian
.
Archived
from the original on November 3, 2018
. Retrieved
January 19,
2017
.
External links
[
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]