This is a 5:50 p.m. update of a story posted at 10:22 this morning.
SPRINGFIELD – Larry McDermott, publisher of The Republican since 1999, announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the year. George Arwady, publisher of The Star-Ledger of Newark, will assume the duties of publisher at The Republican.
Both companies are part of the Advance Publications newspaper group.
McDermott, 61, was publisher of The Bay City (Mich.) Times when he was named executive editor of the Springfield newspaper in 1991.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead this newspaper for the past 10 years. I’m proud of the staff’s many accomplishments, which have continued even during this challenging economy,” McDermott told employees. “But it’s time for new leadership to take the company to the next level, and I can think of no better person than George. The newspaper and the community are very fortunate.”
“Larry McDermott has dedicated a large portion of his career to his newspaper and his community. In my years of working with him, I have never seen him waver in his support of great journalism, and in his commitment to civic leadership,” said Mark Newhouse, executive vice president of Advance. “We are pleased that George Arwady is able to step into his shoes.”
McDermott said he has known Arwady for 25 years and worked with him in Michigan. Before going to the Newark newspaper in 2005, Arwady was publisher of the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette.
“He’s the most innovative publisher I’ve ever known, and he brings a record of success in everything from community journalism to local economic development,” McDermott said.
During McDermott’s tenure, the newspaper embraced local investigative and enterprise reporting, winning distinction in New England for fighting for access to public information and on First Amendment issues. The newspaper twice won the New England Newspaper Association’s First Amendment Award, and McDermott received the Yankee Quill Award in 2007, the highest honor afforded a New England journalist.
The Republican’s plant was expanded in 2003, making room for state-of-the-art offset printing and packaging equipment. Today it prints and packages not only The Republican but also the daily newspaper in Meriden, Connecticut, The Record-Journal.
McDermott, an Arkansas State University graduate, served as a U.S. Army information specialist for the United Nations in South Korea in 1971 prior to working as a correspondent, editor, bureau chief and general executive for The Associated Press.
He has served on a number of local boards, including the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, YMCA of Greater Springfield, Springfield Library and Museums Association, Western Massachusetts Literacy Cabinet and president of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association.
In addition, he has been co-chairman of the Massachusetts Judiciary-Media Committee since 1999. McDermott and Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice John M. Greaney of Westfield co-chaired the committee until Greaney’s retirement last year. Greaney was succeeded by SJC Justice Robert J. Cordy.
Arwady has spent four decades working in newspapers in Michigan and New Jersey, initially as a writer and editor. He is in his 30th year as a publisher of an Advance newspaper, including the last 5 years as publisher of The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. Arwady, 62, was born in Brooklyn, grew up in New Jersey, but spent 34 years of his career in Michigan. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Hope College in Michigan and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University in Manhattan. He and his wife Pamela have seven children between them.
Journalists who have worked alongside McDermott during his 18 years at The Republican recalled his contributions.
“During Larry McDermott’s tenure we became a better newspaper. We uncovered wrongdoing that led to the biggest corruption probe in Springfield’s history. We fought for the rights of our readers. We have made a difference,” said Executive Editor Wayne E. Phaneuf.
Marie Grady, who left to attend law school in 2006 after eight years as managing editor at The Republican said, “Larry was challenging us to think about what we do and how we can do it better. That passion for journalistic excellence, coupled with his great advocacy for the public’s right to know, transformed The Republican.”
His insistence on excellence never wavered even as he took on the enormous challenge of navigating the newspaper through troubled economic times. It was never compromised by cronyism, colored by the politics of popularity or mitigated by the hubris of elitism. He wanted a newspaper that outdid itself every day on behalf of readers.”
Tom Shea, popular columnist for The Republican, remembers McDermott’s support back when he was a reporter in 1991 working on a series of local stories on the child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church.
“His support during this trying time was really courageous,” Shea said.
He added, “Larry turned my world upside down in a good way by allowing me to do a column about everyday people .” Shea’s award winning column began in 1995 and has touched hundreds of people’s lives.
“From the time he joined our newspaper as executive editor and continuing as publisher, Larry McDermott has been a steadfast supporter and champion of the public’s right to know,” said Cynthia G. Simison, managing editor. “In the newsroom, he has supported us at every turn in the development of stories to push for the right of public access to every document and piece of information possible so that our readers have a full understanding of how their government and institutions are run.”
“He has insisted this remain a cornerstone of our mission, one which is certain to remain even as the face of newspapers change in the 21st century,” she said.
At the same time, Simison said, McDermott has also been “simply a lover of a good story,” a “hey, Martha” piece, as he would call it, which might prompt a chuckle or a smile, a tear or a jeer. “He always pushed us to do our best for our readers, to present them with a broad palette of stories about what’s happening in their communities and their everyday lives.”