Janet Leach, b. 1956

Janet Leach, first female editor of the Akron Beacon Journal, always likes to say “you can have it all, but not at the same time.”

That seemed to prove true for her as well, when, in February 2003, she was unable to juggle home, job, family, children and community activism and resigned as editor of the Beacon. She has since accepted a position as “professional in residence” at Kent State University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Leach was editor of the Beacon at a particularly difficult juncture. Taking over in 1998, just as the economy soured in Northeast Ohio, Leach had responsibility in 2001 of overseeing the first newsroom layoff in the paper’s history. Buyouts further reduced the newsroom staff, eliminating many of the Beacon’s most experienced reporters.

In spite of the cutbacks, Leach remained committed to covering the community as thoroughly as before. Leach especially emphasized the coverage of children and children’s issues, supervising the series on shaken baby syndrome.

Under her watch, the newspaper came to be known for its community projects. After the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, the newspaper started a campaign to raise funds to buy a fire truck for that city. The public quickly responded and New York had a much-needed fire truck. The newspaper also was very active in raising public awareness and funds for the Millennium Fund for Children, an endowment fund established to enhance children’s lives in the 21st century.

When Leach took over as BJ editor in March 1998, she said it was “like a dream come true.” Leach was returning “home.”

Leach was originally from Maple Heights, a Cleveland suburb, and had been away for more than 20 years, first to get her journalism degree from Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio) and then to establish a professional career.

Leach started that career as a police reporter at The Review Times, a small afternoon daily in Fostoria. She also worked for the Arizona Republic and the Phoenix Gazette and taught journalism at Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati. Immediately before coming to the Beacon, Leach had been managing editor for the Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily newspaper owned by the Gannett Company.

Coming “home” also meant that her three daughters -- the twins still in diapers – could spend time with Leach’s family and that husband John could get his law degree at The University of Akron.

Leach understood that being editor of the Beacon brought enormous responsibilities. The newspaper had a long tradition of editorial excellence, winning a total of four Pulitzer Prizes, including the Golden Medal for Meritorious Service in 1994.

She seemed to live up to her job. She supervised the much-trimmed-down editorial staff of 170 but the paper’s editorial excellence still remained high. During her five-year tenure with the Beacon, the newspaper won the “Best Newspaper in Ohio” award three times from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists.

In addition, Leach served on the board of directors of the Associated Press Managing Editors and as a judge for the Pulitzer Prizes. She is also a member of the Knight Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Akron Press Club, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. She is a graduate of Leadership Akron.

However, the strain of running a newspaper and family wore on her. In her memo to the staff announcing her resignation, Leach cited personal reasons for her departure. She had struggled to “juggle demands for editor, mother, wife, community involvement and more” and she needed to give up some of her tasks – and one of those tasks was editing the Beacon Journal. In accepting her resignation, Publisher James N. Crutchfield said, “Jan has been an outstanding editor of the Beacon Journal.” She is a “fine journalist and a leader with vision and compassion. We will miss her.”

Leach and her family continue to reside in Fairlawn, Ohio.

--Janelle Baltputnis