John Alden Scott (March 11, 1916 – October 1, 1986) was a president of the

Gannett Foundation The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) foundation dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms for all. The organization advances First Amendment freedoms through programs that include Today's Front Pages, the Power Shift Project, the a ...

from 1976 to 1981. Scott later served as chairman of the board after his retirement, and served in that capacity until three months before his death. Scott was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. His family moved to

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, in 1928, where he attended public schools. He graduated with honors from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1938, receiving his degree in English. He was briefly a teacher and a school administrator prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. While at Notre Dame Scott joined the

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedi ...

, and received a commission as a second lieutenant. He was called to active duty prior to the outbreak of the war. He served with the

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry division ...

and saw action during the Bougainville and Guam campaigns. He received the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with valor clasp, and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. Scott was called to active duty during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, serving in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as a public relations officer. He retired from the Marine Reserves with the rank of brigadier general in 1959. Following his service in the Korean War, Scott was elected mayor of South Bend. He served from 1952 to 1956. Scott began his journalism career with the

South Bend Tribune The ''South Bend Tribune'' is a daily newspaper and news website which is based in South Bend, Indiana. It is distributed in South Bend, Mishawaka, north central Indiana, and southwestern Michigan. It has been named as a "Blue Ribbon Newspaper ...

. He joined Federated Publications and published their newspapers in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

;

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

; and Olympia and

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

. When Federated Publications merged with the

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as severa ...

, Scott was named publisher of the

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honol ...

and president of Gannett Pacific. After four years Scott was named president of the Gannett Foundation (now known as The Freedom Forum), which at the time was ranked one of the largest foundations in the country. Scott was a prolific speaker, delivering lectures on more than fifty campuses and 100 cities nationwide. He also wrote extensively for papers and magazines. In 1983 he was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. Scott died on October 1, 1986, at his home in

Cocoa Beach, Florida Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,354 at the 2020 United States census, up from 11,231 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–T ...

. At roughly the time of his death civic leaders were breaking ground for a waterfront pavilion at Cape Canaveral Hospital that was to be named in his honor.
, http://indianajournalismhof.org/1983/01/john-a-scott

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, John Alden 1916 births 1986 deaths People from Litchfield, Connecticut Writers from South Bend, Indiana Journalists from Indiana American male journalists Mayors of South Bend, Indiana 20th-century American non-fiction writers United States Marine Corps generals United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps reservists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Indiana politicians