Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 7, 1991 TAG: 9102070161
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
He had been hospitalized for several months and died of a respiratory ailment.
Knight and his older brother, John, who died in 1981, inherited a debt-ridden Ohio newspaper, The Akron Beacon Journal, in the depths of the Great Depression.
In 1937 the brothers acquired The Miami Herald, starting them on a path to building a chain that grew to include The Chicago Daily News, The Detroit Free Press, The Charlotte Observer and the Philadephphia Inquirer and Daily News.
In 1974 they merged their group with Ridder Publications, gaining control of a media giant that today totals 29 daily newspapers, cable television interests and other communications services.
James Knight, 15 years younger than his brother, was the financial brain behind the partnership. John Knight was editorial director and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize.
The Knights were known in journalism for establishing a firm separation between business decisions and news and editorial decisions. - The New York Times
by CNB