Mary Schurz, retired publisher in media family, dies

Mary Schurz, retired editor and publisher of The Advocate-Messenger in Danville, Ky., and part of the family that owns Schurz Communications, died today at her home in Danville following a long illness, the newspaper reports. She was 71.

Schurz became publisher of the 10,000-circulation daily in 1978, after the company bought it from the local owners, and became chairman and publisher emeritus in 2006, when her nephew, Scott Schurz Jr., took over. She was a native of South Bend, Ind., home base for the company, which "owns newspapers and other media interests from California to Maryland and from Alaska to Florida," the paper reports. "She had a prestigious career, serving for many years on the board of directors of The Associated Press, the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and other national trade groups, was a past president of the Kentucky Press Association, and was one of 65 editors selected in 1985 to be nominating jurors for the Pulitzer Prize." (Read more)

UPDATE, Aug. 10: In an editorial, John Nelson, the Advocate-Messenger's managing editor for the past 13 years, quotes from the late Jim Schurz in a 2006 story about his sister’s retirement: “Her devotion to the newspaper, the employees and the community has been total. In return, no publisher has enjoyed the loyalty of her staff more than Mary.” Nelson writes that she left these lessons: "Work hard. Strive for accuracy. Be fair. Be humble. Care about your community. Be fearless. Stand up for what you believe." Good signposts for any journalist. "A former reporter herself, she understood that the news is not always pleasant, not always easy to obtain, and with little regard for the financial burden, she stood ready to fight the good fight for the rights afforded the press by the First Amendment." (Read more)