Mary Jacobus (February 11, 1957 – February 20, 2009) was an American journalist. She was an executive with

The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media corporation that publishes ''The New York Times'' and its associated publications such as ''The New York Times International Edition'' and other media properties. The New York Times Company's ...

, serving as president and general manager of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' from January through September 2006, and then, until her death in February 2009, heading the company's Regional Media Group, overseeing 15 daily newspapers and several other publications. She also served on the board of

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American 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 distributed to its members, major ...

Early life and education

Jacobus was raised in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. She obtained her degree in 1979, from

Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college mostly in DeWitt, New York. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946, and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. Le Moyne was the first co-educational Jesuit college in the United Sta ...

, in Syracuse, New York.

Career

In the 70s, Jacobus worked for '' The Buffalo Courier-Express'', ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

'', and '' The Long Beach Press-Telegram'' where she was responsible for advertising. She also worked as vice president of sales and marketing at The Gazette and director of sales and marketing for the ''

Escondido Times-Advocate The ''Daily Times-Advocate'', also called the ''Escondido Times-Advocate'', was a daily newspaper published in Escondido, California. It was founded in 1909 and ceased publication as a separate title in 1995. History ''The Daily Times-Advocate'' ...

''. In January 2006, Jacobus began working for the Times; a mere eight months later, she became president and chief operating officer of the Times Regional Media Group. She was also on the executive committee. Since 2007, she served on the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Prior to working for the Times Company, Jacobus spent seven years in the Knight Ridder chain where she began as president and publisher of ''

The Duluth News Tribune The ''Duluth News Tribune'' (known locally as ''The Tribune'' or ''DNT'') is a newspaper based in Duluth, Minnesota. While circulation is heaviest in the Twin Ports metropolitan area, delivery extends into northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wis ...

''. She was later a publisher of ''

The News-Sentinel ''The News-Sentinel'' was a daily newspaper based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The afternoon ''News-Sentinel'' was politically independent. The papers suspended publication in November 2020, after the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. Early history ' ...

'' and president and chief executive of Fort Wayne Newspapers.

Death

Jacobus died February 20, 2009, in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, at the age of 52, from a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of her death, she lived in Tampa with her husband, Dean Jacobus and her three children, triplets, Kelly, Kimberly, and Bill. In October 2009, Jacobus was honored posthumously, with the Frank W. Mayborn Award, by the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. The award is presented to outstanding publishers and editors, in recognition of their leadership and contributions to the newspaper industry. It was the first time that the award had been given posthumously. The family, Dean, and her three children were each given a Frabel sculpture inscribed with the words: "This sculpture, called 'Ascendency,' was chosen by the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association to honor Mary Jacobus for her vision, leadership and contributions to the newspaper industry."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobus, Mary 20th-century American women journalists 2009 deaths 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American women 1957 births Le Moyne College alumni