Updated: Wednesday, February 27, 2008
2009 Passings
John Hope Franklin
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Wilbert Tatum, publisher emeritus of the NY Amsterdam News
 While enjoying the end of another successful awards ceremony, we learned that Wilbert Tatum, publisher emeritus of the NY Amsterdam News, passed away last night while vacationing with his wife Susan in Croatia. Bill was last year's NYABJ Lifetime Achievement Award winner in print journalism. He was 76.
Bill Tatum along with a group of businessman purchased the Amsterdam News in 1971. Under the AmNews Corporation the paper was observed to have made a transformation to a more liberal appeal. Until in 1984, when Wilbert Tatum bought the Amsterdam News outright and became its publisher and editor.
Bill had a brief stay in the mainstream in 1993, when he was named publisher and editor of the NY Post amid the bankruptcy fight at the paper as well as discrimination allegations at both the Post and NY Daily News. Both publications had no reporters of color on their city desks and no minority editorial managers.
Under his guidance, the Amsterdam News continued to publish amid the disappearance of brother and sister black newspapers across the country. He took the paper back to what had been described as a more militant and progressive position. In 1997, his daughter Elinor became editor-in-chief where she remains today.
Our thoughts and prayers are with our sisters Elly and Susan. Bill's footprint on the history of news, New York and the business of black owned media will never be filled.
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