Sandra Mims Rowe
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Sandra Mims Rowe (born May 26, 1948) is an American journalist. She is the former editor of ''
The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virgi ...
'' in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
, and of ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'', in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. She was one of the few women editors of metro newspapers in the 1980s, and was the first woman editor at ''The Virginian-Pilot'' and ''The Oregonian.'' She was the second female president of the
American Society of News Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editing, editors, news director, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, Dean (education), deans or faculty at Journalism school, ...
, a decade after
Kay Fanning Katherine "Kay" Fanning (October 18, 1927 – October 19, 2000) was an American journalist and newspaper editor and publisher. She was editor and publisher of the ''Anchorage Daily News''. In 1983, she became editor of the ''Christian Science Mon ...
, the editor of ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...
'', was the first.


Personal life and education

Rowe was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was raised in Harrisonburg, Virginia. At the time of her birth her father, D. Lathan Mims, was a reporter and editor for the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
in Charlotte. When she was eight years old the family moved to Harrisonburg, where her father was the general manager and editor of the ''Daily News Record.'' As a teenager, she accompanied her father on late-night visits to the composing room and pressroom, her favorite parts of the newspaper, and filled in for vacationing proofreaders. She graduated from
East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...
in Greenville, North Carolina, with a degree in English in 1970. In 1990, she completed the Program for Management Development at the
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
. From 2010 to 2011, she was a Shorenstein Fellow at the
Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
.


Journalism career

When Rowe was named executive editor at ''The Virginian-Pilot'' and ''The Ledger-Star'' at age 36, she was one of only three women in the U.S. in the top position at a metro newspaper. Previously, in quick succession in her late 20s and early 30s, she was a reporter, section editor, city editor, assistant managing editor and then managing editor of ''The Ledger-Star.'' In 1982, ''The Ledger-Star'' merged newsrooms with its sister newspaper, ''The Virginian-Pilot'', and Rowe was named one of two managing editors of the combined newspaper, the largest daily in Virginia at that time. In 1984, she was named executive editor and vice president of the combined newspaper, which had a daily circulation of 225,000. Under her leadership, the newspaper won the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
for General News Reporting in 1985, its first in 25 years. She was editor of ''The Oregonian'' in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, from 1993 until her retirement in January 2010. Under her leadership the newspaper won five Pulitzer Prizes, including the Public Service Prize in 2001 for a project led by
Amanda Bennett Amanda Bennett (born July 9, 1952) is an American journalist and author who served as CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media from 2022 to 2025. She was the director of Voice of America from 2016 to 2020. She formerly edited ''The Philadelphia Inqu ...
that documented systemic problems within the
Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a United States federal government agency under the United States Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and under the United States Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Refe ...
. Additional Pulitzers received by the publication during Rowe's editorship include the 1999 Explanatory Reporting Prize, the 2001 Feature Writing Prize, the 2006 Editorial Writing Prize and the 2007 Breaking News Reporting Prize. At ''The Virginian-Pilot'' and ''The Oregonian,'' Rowe was known for building a newsroom of talented and ambitious reporters and editors, raising journalistic and ethical standards, for inspiring leadership and mentoring of journalists. After she retired from ''The Oregonian,'' Rowe accepted a Knight fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School for the 2010 and 2011 academic year where she researched the case for partnerships and collaboration in local investigative reporting. In 2012, Rowe was the Gaylord Visiting Professor in Journalism Ethics at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
.


Awards and honors

*1998: East Carolina University Outstanding Alumni award, and was the university's commencement speaker in May 1997. *2000: Named to the Virginia Journalism Hall of Fame. *The National Press Foundation awarded her the Benjamin Bradlee Editor of the Year for 2003. *Editor of the Year. National Press Foundation, 2004. *2008: ''
Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the news media industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry," with offices in Hendersonville, ...
'' magazine named Rowe and
Peter Bhatia Peter Bhatia is an American journalist and CEO of Houston Landing, a nonprofit news site in Houston, Texas. In his career, he was at various times the top editor of the ''Detroit Free Press'', ''The Oregonian'', and ''The Cincinnati Enquirer ...
as Editors of the Year. *2010: American Society of Newspaper Editors awarded her its National Leadership Award. *2010: The University of Missouri School of Journalism awarded her its Medal of Honor for her distinguished Service to Journalism and in 2011, the Livingston Foundation recognized her mentoring of scores of young journalists with the Richard Clurman Award. *2013: ASNE opened its convention honoring Sandy Rowe and Jill Abramson, two “breakthrough female editors.”


Professional leadership

Rowe chaired the board of the
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
based in New York from 2011 to 2017, a time period in which its work and the finances supporting the organization greatly expanded. CPJ received attention in October 2016 when in an unprecedented action, Rowe issued a public statement on the potential threat
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
posed to free press. She chaired the Board of Visitors of the John S. Knight Fellowships at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
from 2001 to 2017. As chairman, she initiated and led the board through redefinition of the mission, selection process and activities of the fellowships, changing from mid-career refreshment to a program defined by innovation and leadership in information businesses. She served on the Pulitzer Prize Board from 1994 to 2003 and was its chair in 2002 to 2003. In 1997 to 1998, she was president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the second woman to lead the organization since its founding in 1922. She led its committees and convention to focus on improving journalistic credibility, delivering the primary convention address in 1998, "Leading the Way Out of Credibility Crisis." She was chair of The Knight Foundation Journalism Advisory Board, Miami, Florida, from 2000 to 2005. From 1999 to 2003 she was on the board of World Affairs Council, Portland, Oregon. She was on the board of trustees of
James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...
, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from 1991 to 1993. She is a lifetime trustee of
Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...
in Salem, Oregon. In 2017 Rowe was appointed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission. She also serves on the board of directors of
Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...
and the Oregon Nature Conservancy. She is featured in the book, ''The Edge of Change,'' which highlights the influence American women have had on the news industry.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Sandra Mims American newspaper editors 1948 births Living people The Oregonian people Journalists from Portland, Oregon Associated Press reporters East Carolina University alumni Harvard Business School alumni Editors of Virginia newspapers American women newspaper editors Editors of Oregon newspapers Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina 21st-century American women Presidents of the American Society of News Editors