Reg Murphy, a famend journalist whose reporting profession included stints as an editor and prime govt at newspapers in Atlanta, San Francisco and Baltimore – and who discovered himself the topic of nationwide headlines when he survived a politically motivated kidnapping – has died on the age of 90 years outdated.
Murphy, who lived on St. Simons Island, Georgia, died Nov. 9.
John Reginald “Reg” Murphy was a Georgia native who lined state politics for the Macon Telegraph early in his profession. He then labored as a reporter and editor at The Atlanta Constitution within the civil rights motion. Murphy turned editor and writer of the San Francisco Examiner in 1975, then went on to function writer on the Baltimore Sun.
As an editor, Murphy was an inspiration, stated Art Harris, a reporter for The Constitution who later adopted Murphy to San Francisco, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “That was his magic. He impressed folks by constructing them. He was a gentleman and a mild persuader. I by no means heard him increase his voice. Not everybody preferred his choices, however he did not let that deter him from making them.”
Murphy then held senior management roles on the National Geographic Society, the place he helped pioneer new media applied sciences whereas increasing the worldwide attain and impression of its print and video platforms.
His journalism profession took him everywhere in the world, together with Russia, China, Japan and the Middle East, Mercer University famous in a 2023 article about Murphy, who attended lessons there within the Fifties. In the United States, Murphy highlighted the significance of journalism to the well being of the nation and communities.
“Journalism is, in my thoughts, sacred,” he stated in an interview final yr for Mercer University. “Telling the reality and attempting to offer folks sufficient freedom to have the ability to discover the reality after which pursue it’s a sacred accountability.”
During his time as editorial web page editor at The Atlanta Constitution, Murphy turned the main target of a compelling story in 1974, when he was kidnapped and held for a $700,000 ransom. The kidnapper claimed to be a part of a militia group that wished to cease “the lies of left-wing newspapers”.
Two days later, Murphy was launched right into a motel parking zone after paying the ransom. A number of hours after her launch, her kidnapper was arrested at her house and the cash was recovered. The man was later convicted and sentenced to 40 years in jail, however finally served 9.
Murphy continued his lengthy, profitable profession in journalism. Years later, Murphy recounted that harrowing expertise firsthand in Golf Digest. It all began when a person who claimed he wanted assist donating 300,000 gallons of heating oil satisfied Murphy to accompany him to his lawyer’s workplace to signal the paperwork. Murphy recounted what occurred as soon as he turned suspicious.
“He was steering along with his proper hand, and along with his left he put a gun on his forearm, and he seemed over and stated, ‘Mr. Murphy, you’ve gotten been kidnapped,” Murphy wrote. “He threw a roll of white duct tape in my lap and advised me to cowl my eyes. With the gun pointed at me, I did as I used to be advised and utilized three stripes from temple to temple.”
A couple of minutes later, the automobile stopped and the kidnapper used a rope to bind his wrists behind his again after which his ankles, Murphy wrote. Still blindfolded, Murphy was advised to get into the truck.
“When I used to be within the trunk, he tied my wrists to my ankles behind me in order that my physique fashioned an upside-down C,” she wrote. “This was very uncomfortable for my again. The trunk was shallow: if I raised my head even a couple of centimeters it could hit the roof. I used to be respiratory shortly, however I used to be additionally attempting to manage my respiratory, attempting to not panic.
They drove for hours till he was taken to a constructing, Murphy stated. Before being pushed between the mattress and the wall, he was allowed to talk on the phone to a different editor of The Constitution, informing him that he had been kidnapped. It turned nationwide information, coming quickly after Patty Hearst, niece of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped by a far-left militant group.
Murphy stated he misplaced 10 kilos (4.5 kilograms) in the course of the ordeal and suffered claustrophobia from hours spent within the trunk. During his captivity, he replayed in his thoughts the rounds of golf he had performed.
Two months later, Murphy stated he was on a golf course at a charity occasion. At practically each gap, gallery spectators requested for his autograph or posed for a photograph, he recalled. His ardour for golf offered a therapeutic launch from the kidnapping, his obituary says.
Murphy turned an energetic volunteer on the sport’s governing physique, the United States Golf Association, and served as its president in 1994 and 1995.
“Like so many USGA presidents earlier than him and since, Reg has devoted his time and experience to assist additional enhance the sport of golf,” stated USGA CEO Mike Whan. “The USGA and the individuals who play and love the sport of golf are higher off due to Reg’s dedication, ardour and management.”
Murphy was the son of Mae and John Lee Murphy, a instructor and retailer proprietor. He remained a robust supporter of Mercer, describing the varsity as “a spot the place I realized one thing concerning the who, what, the place, why and the way of journalism.” He served 5 phrases on Mercer’s board of administrators, his obituary says. Mercer honored his accomplishments by renaming his Center for Collaborative Journalism the Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism.
