When Eugene Roberts Jr. became editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the then-twenty-nine-year-old Lovelady was one of his first hires. Lovelady, with many others, helped Roberts build a not-so-great daily in 1972 into a prime example of what a regional metropolitan newspaper could be with serious money, talent, and drive.
After the Inquirer, Lovelady worked as an editor-at-large for Time Inc., and as a freelance editor, for Mother Jones among other outlets, before coming to CJR, which he left in 2006 when CJR funding went through a fallow period.
A memorial service will be held in the spring. Contributions in Lovelady’s name can be sent to Investigative Reporters & Editors, the nonprofit based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, in Columbia, Missouri.
What a sad turn of events. Steve Lovelady was a staunch defender of objective journalism and very active online in past years. I often argued alongside him on Jay Rosen's Pressthink (who banned me) with vehement media bias critics of the same sort we still see on climate change stories promoting their denialist memes. He was never afraid to get into the fray. RIP.
#1 Posted by Mark York, CJR on Wed 20 Jan 2010 at 02:59 PM