Member Richard Inskeep, 89, dies

Jan. 13, 2014

Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame member Richard G. Inskeep, who was publisher of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette, died Jan. 8. He was 89.

Inskeep grew up in Bluffton. After graduation from Indiana University 1949, he went to work for the Journal Gazette, quickly moving to assistant managing editor, the managing editor, then vice president and treasurer in 1969. He was named publisher in 1973.

Inskeep became known for heading an editorial board that often supported positions that were unpopular with its readers, including abortion rights and gun control. He also fought for the paper’s First Amendment rights, winning two federal court judgments, among others, and received the Hoosier State Press Association’s First Freedom Award in 1996.

He retired from the publisher’s position in 1997 but remained a board member of Fort Wayne Newspapers and president of The Journal Gazette Co.

Inskeep was inducted to the hall in 1991.

As a philanthropist, Inskeep created the Journal Gazette Foundation, which supported health care, social services, literacy and education. The foundation provided significant scholarships to students in IU’s High School Journalism Institute and journalism program. Inskeep also was involved in the leadership of numerous community organizations, and he was a past national president of the IU Alumni Association.

 ——contributed by Anne Kibbler, Director of Communications, Indiana University School of Journalism