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Group honors former Times editor

Andrew Barnes receives a leadership award from the Society of Newspaper Editors.

By ALISA ULFERTS
Published April 1, 2007

Andrew Barnes, retired chairman and editor of the St. Petersburg Times, was honored last week with the Editorial Leadership Award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

The award recognizes people from inside and outside the newsroom who have shown "outstanding leadership on behalf of an American newspaper," according to the organization.

"I am honored to have my work recognized by my peers," said Barnes, 67. "Preserving the value of honest journalism in a time of change was the hardest thing I attempted, harder than fighting off Wall Street, and it is even harder now.

"Fortunately, we continue to attract distinguished men and women to this wonderfully rewarding craft."

Barnes, who led the newspaper from 1988 until his retirement in 2004, is credited with raising the Times' national standing and reputation; during his years at the Times, the paper won five Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence.

But he is perhaps most well known for his high-stakes showdown with Texas financier and corporate raider Robert M. Bass in 1990 over control of the Times. Barnes won the fight and ensured the newspaper's independence.

And that experience makes Barnes' receipt of the leadership award particularly appropriate, given the current challenges facing the industry, said Paul Tash, chairman, chief executive officer and editor of the Times.

"At a time of turmoil in the newspaper business, Andy is an especially strong choice for this leadership award," Tash said. "He defended a unique structure against a crass business challenge, and reminds us that newspapers will thrive as they serve their readers and their communities."

Barnes was nominated for the award by Jim Naughton, former president of the Poynter Institute, the journalism school that owns the Times. Naughton stated in his nominating letter, "It was (Andy's) conviction that democracy is dependent on news and that news coverage is dependent on resources. Nelson Poynter called newspapering a sacred trust. Andy Barnes more than kept the trust."

A Harvard College graduate, Barnes began his career writing for the Providence Journal in 1961 and then spent eight years at the Washington Post. He came to St. Petersburg in 1973, first as assistant managing editor, and became editor and president in 1984. Four years later, he succeeded Eugene Patterson as chief executive officer of Times Publishing Co. and chairman of the Poynter Institute.

Barnes is also a former chairman of the Newspaper Association of America and of the ASNE Ethics Committee. He was a member and chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Board and a member of the Florida Council of 100.

[Last modified April 1, 2007, 00:25:47]