John Reginald Murphy (January 7, 1934 – November 9, 2024), usually known as Reg Murphy, was an American publisher, author and business executive.

Professional life

Journalism and editing

A native of

Gainesville, Georgia Gainesville is a city and the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it has been calle ...

who attended

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

, Murphy began his career in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

with the '' Macon Telegraph,'' and was awarded a

Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Fellowship is a fellowship from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. It awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman ...

at Harvard University, where he studied from 1958 to 1960. He became editor of the ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Jo ...

'', editor and publisher of ''

The San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the H ...

'', and publisher and CEO of ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

''. Murphy was president and CEO of the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

from 1996 to 1998.

Golf

From 1994 to 1995, Murphy served as the president of the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...

. He authored a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of Griffin Bell, ''Uncommon Sense: The Achievement of Griffin Bell''.

Academics

In 2012 he served as Executive-in-Residence at the College of Coastal Georgia.

Kidnapping

Murphy was kidnapped on February 20, 1974, at the age of 40, and was freed two days later after the ''Atlanta Constitution'' paid $700,000 ransom. Murphy was well known for his stance against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, but the motive for the kidnapping is still unknown. William A. H. Williams was arrested for the crime only six hours after Murphy was released, and all of the money was recovered. Williams was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in jail but served only nine; his wife Betty received probation for not reporting her husband to police. Williams claimed to represent a right-wing militia group called The American Revolutionary Army, protesting against "too leftist and too liberal" media outlets and a government which was a “fraud and a murderer on a mass scale”, and sought to have all federal elected officials resign. In 2019, contacted by a journalist, Williams apologised for the kidnapping.

Personal life and death

Murphy had a wife, Diana, and two daughters. He died in St. Simons Island, Georgia, on November 9, 2024, at the age of 90.

References

1934 births 2024 deaths 1970s missing person cases 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Formerly missing American people The Atlanta Journal-Constitution people American people taken hostage Kidnapped businesspeople Missing person cases in Vietnam People from Gainesville, Georgia The Baltimore Sun people {{US-journalist-1930s-stub