Neuharth, Founder of USA TODAY, to Speak in Seattle

SEATTLE, Wash. — Allen H. Neuharth, founder of USA TODAY and the Freedom Forum,
will deliver the keynote speech at a CityClub Pacemaker Forum luncheon co-sponsored by
Washington State University and Davis Wright Tremaine on Thursday, May 27.
Profiled recently in Tom Brokaw’s book, “The Greatest Generation,” Neuharth is best known
for launching USA TODAY in 1982. Printed in full-color, with shorter articles and a
consumer-friendly approach to news, the newspaper was considered innovative.
In his forum presentation, “Free Enterprise Requires Free Speech, Free Press, and a Free
Spirit,” Neuharth will provide a firsthand account of the creation of USA TODAY and its
subsequent impact on print journalism.
Neuharth travels to the Pacific Northwest to accept the 1999 Murrow Award in journalism
from WSU’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. Seattle Times executive editor Mike
Fancher and Casey Murrow, son of the late Edward R. Murrow, will introduce Neuharth.
Neuharth began his journalism career at The Miami Herald, The Detroit Free Press, and
Gannett Papers, where he served as president and CEO. He rose through the ranks to build
Gannett Co. Inc. into the nation’s largest newspaper company.
In addition to being the founding publisher of USA TODAY, the nation’s most widely read
newspaper, he is a trustee of the nonpartisan, media-oriented Freedom Forum, a foundation
dedicated to free press and free speech.
The CityClub forum is scheduled for 12-1:30 p.m., at the Washington Athletic Club Crystal
Ballroom, 1325 Sixth Ave., in Seattle. For more information about the program, contact CityClub
at 206/682-7395.
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