Albert Scardino (born ) is an American journalist and former publisher of ''

The Georgia Gazette ''The Georgia Gazette'' was a weekly alternative newspaper in Savannah, Georgia that took its name from Georgia's first newspaper, also founded in Savannah in 1763. Its owners and publishers were Marjorie Scardino and Albert Scardino. It was a ...

'' who is known for winning the

Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, ...

in 1984.

Early life and education

Scardino was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, and grew up in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, where his father, Dr. Peter Scardino, practiced medicine. He graduated from Savannah Country Day School. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College in 1970, he went on to get his Master of Arts in journalism at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

. At Columbia, he was night editor of the ''

Columbia Daily Spectator The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the second-oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after '' The Harvard Crimson'', a ...

.''

Career

On April 10, 1978, he started ''

'' with his wife Majorie on $50,000 raised among family and friends and the two managed the daily operations of the newspaper as publishers and maintained a staff of around twenty. The newspaper was famous for its investigative journalism that exposed the corruption of Sam Caldwell, who was later convicted of fraud conspiracy. He 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 ...

in 1984 for his editorials exposing the corruption and ineptitude of local and state governments. However, their style of journalism did not appeal to many locals, and the paper occasionally met resistance from the officials, including then mayor John Rousakis. Circulation of the newspaper was meager and hovered between 2,500 and 4,000. Eventually, financial constraints forced the couple to shut down the newspaper in 1985. Scardino was later hired by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as an editor and worked there until 1990, when he was hired by mayor

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...

as his press secretary, a role he served until his resignation 1991. He later moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with his wife after she was promoted to the CEO of the

Economist Group The Economist Newspaper Limited (commonly The Economist Group) is a British media company headquartered in London, England. It is best known as publisher of ''The Economist'' newspaper and its sister lifestyle magazine, ''1843 (magazine), 1843'' ...

and worked as a journalist and executive editor of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' from 2002 to 2004. He also served as a governor of The Royal Shakespeare Company, a director of

Media Standards Trust The Media Standards Trust is a British media think tank formed in 2006. It carries out research on issues in the media sector. It also advocates for press freedom as well as industry quality, transparency and accountability. It is a registered cha ...

, and judge on the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...

jury in 2008. Outside of his journalism career, he owned

Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club is a professional football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football, following promotion from the National League in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1862, ...

, the world's oldest professional association football club, in a futile attempt to help it get out of debt.

Personal life

In 1974 he married

Marjorie Scardino Dame Marjorie Scardino ( Morris; born 25 January 1947) is an American-born British business executive. She is the former CEO of Pearson PLC. Scardino became a trustee of Oxfam during her tenure at Pearson. She was criticized by ''Private Eye' ...

(née Morris), who was raised in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and received her BA from

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

and JD from the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. She became the first female CEO of a

FTSE 100 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most highly capitalised blue chips listed on ...

company when she was appointed as the chief executive of British publisher Pearson plc in 1997. The couple has three children, including Hal Scardino, who was a child actor known for playing the protagonist in ''The Indian in the Cupboard'' and two films

Searching for Bobby Fischer ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', released in the United Kingdom as ''Innocent Moves'', is a 1993 American drama film written and directed by Steven Zaillian in his directorial debut. Starring Max Pomeranc in his film debut, Joe Mantegna, Joa ...

and Marvin's Room.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scardino, Albert American newspaper founders American newspaper editors Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing winners Columbia College (New York) alumni Mass media people from Savannah, Georgia UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism alumni Editors of New York City newspapers The New York Times editors The Guardian journalists Living people 1940s births