Al Neuharth, former Gannett chairman and creator of the Freedom Forum, died Friday in his Cocoa Beach home at the age of 89, according to USA Today, the newspaper he also founded. In a column titled “Plain Talk” — one he requested the paper publish after his death — Neuharth wrote, “As a journalist, I had a wonderful window on the world. For nearly 50 years as a reporter and editor, I tried to tell stories accurately and fairly, without opinion.” When that was through, the self-described “dreamer and schemer” also took some money out of his journalism charity for personal expenses. He’ll live on in the form of his eponymous Excellence in Media Award.
