Bob Dubill, legendary USA TODAY editor, dies at 88
Robert A. Dubill, award-winning editor in chief of Gannett News Service and a unique and energetic leader at USA TODAY since its founding in 1982, died Friday from complications following a fall. He was 88.
With his keen eye for accuracy and tireless dedication to reporters, Dubill was a passionate advocate for journalism, not just as a profession but as a calling. He was a sought-after mentor to staff when USA TODAY’s bold attempt to reshape the newspaper industry with color, shorter stories and dynamic images initially struggled to find its way among skeptical critics.
“Bob Dubill was the emotional beating heart of the USA TODAY newsroom,” said Susan Page, Washington bureau chief. “His enthusiasm when he broke a story, especially when we beat the competition, made everyone else in the newsroom want to be part of his team.”
“He had an infectious enthusiasm for USA TODAY that reminded us we were part of something important,” recalled Anne Willette, a reporter for Money and later an editor for Page One. “He would literally start singing in the middle of the newsroom, sometimes standing on a desk.”
Dubill’s cheerleading tactics in the newsroom, a combination of pep talks, story tips, humor and yes, singing – including his booming rendition of Twisted Sister’s defiant “We’re Not Going to Take It!” – thrilled staff and stunned newsroom visitors. He was unforgettable.
But his outstanding personality was built on a long list of accomplishments. After graduating from St. Bonaventure University, Dubill started at the Associated Press in the 1960s and later earned a law degree from Seton Hall University. He worked his way up to become AP’s New Jersey bureau chief, covering national politics, disasters and mafia trials.
At Gannett News Service, then a network of 82 newspapers, editor-in-chief Dubill oversaw an 18-part series on the financial misdeeds of the Paulines, a small order of Catholic monks in eastern Pennsylvania. The project was so explosive, reaching as far as the Vatican, that some local newspapers came under pressure, but Dubill and his team of reporters and editors persevered. The series won the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service in 1980, the first to be awarded to a news service.
The Gannett project “embodied the highest traditions of public service journalism by overcoming strong opposition, uncovering facts and exposing a scandal from which countless potential future victims are now protected,” wrote then-Gannet Chairman Al Neuharth.
“Don’t sensationalize. The facts are frightening enough”
At USA TODAY, Dubill was involved in nearly every major story until his retirement in 2002. “The softer stuff seemed to hinder progress in the beginning,” Dubill said, pushing for a tougher approach.
When a terrorist bomb killed one person and injured 111 others at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, FBI sources initially pointed to a security guard named Richard Jewell. A skeptical Dubill insisted that USA TODAY print the suspicions inside the paper, not on the front page. Reporters objected, but three months later the innocent Jewell was cleared of any involvement.
During 9/11, Dubill chaired a news conference as the Pentagon burned after a terrorist attack just miles from the USA TODAY building in Arlington, Virginia. “Whatever you do, don’t sensationalize it. Don’t exaggerate it,” he told staff. “The facts are horrifying enough.”
Susan Weiss, managing editor of the Life section, recalled Dubill’s dedication to the paper’s College All-Stars awards, which put college academics on a par with sports. “It gave us credibility, respect and tremendous admiration from kids, colleges and high schools,” Weiss said. “Other news organizations tried to copy us.”
Top USA TODAY executives said they could always count on Dubill to keep the journalistic trains running smoothly. “I first met Bob in the ’60s when he worked for AP,” said Tom Curley, former USA TODAY editor and later AP president. “He was then and always was the most passionate advocate of journalism. His love of a good story inspired many to dig deeper and made every newsroom he worked in better.”
“A rare man full of determination and compassion”
“Bob was a no-nonsense journalist with a heart of gold,” said former editor-in-chief Karen Jurgensen. “He was always looking for the right coverage, the best stories, and he roamed the newsroom to consult with reporters and editors.”
Dubill “was old school. He believed that reporters had to be on the street to do their jobs and trusted their judgment without questioning it,” said former political reporter Richard Benedetto.
But when it emerged that a USA TODAY reporter had falsified numerous foreign stories, Dubill, like other editors, was shocked that he had not noticed the deceptions.
“I was devastated,” Dubill recalls. “But you have to get over it, otherwise you lose journalism. I couldn’t be a journalist if I didn’t trust the reporters.”
Many remembered his humanity. In 1979, several Gannett reporters were sent to cover the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in Pennsylvania. Two reporters later developed cancer, although no connection was ever proven. Nevertheless, Dubill repeatedly said to one of them, and as recently as a few months ago, “I’m sorry I sent you there.”
“That kind of thought and compassion is rare, especially in the news business,” said one of those journalists, Chet Czarniak, a former sports editor. “But Bob was a rare man of determination and compassion.”
“A real personality and not just an outstanding journalist”
Brian Gallagher, a former editor in chief, called Dubill “the last of a type once more common in the newspaper business, a real personality who was not only an outstanding journalist and leader. As he often said, even on his deathbed, ‘Every day is the Fourth of July, every night is New Year’s Eve.’ We should all follow his example.”
The memories of those who worked with Dubill were in unison. “A brilliant editor and a better person,” said former Sports Weekly editor Lee Ivory. “A breath of fresh air,” said former Justice reporter Sam Meddis. “A mensch!” said former reporter Karen DeWitt.
Finally, David Mazzarella, another editor-in-chief, said: “Bob offered everyone a shoulder to cry on or a chance to share a triumph.”
Mazzarella added: “A journalist from Croatia told me after a session on American-style journalism at USA TODAY led by Bob, ‘All recently released journalists from Europe should meet this man.'”
Dubill leaves behind his wife Mary, children Andrew and Katie, and six grandchildren.
