Last Updated: March 27, 2000
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Edward Cony dies
Edward Cony, former ASNE president and managing editor of The
Wall Street Journal, died of pneumonia Jan. 9 in an Aptos, Calif., nursing
home. He was 76.
A Pulitzer winner who was known for not tolerating phonies, Cony was
managing editor of the Journal from 1965 to 1970.
Larry O’Donnell, a former Journal managing editor himself, said
that Cony was a mentor.
“Ed Cony had a profound and deep impact on his newsroom colleagues.
Reporters wanted to work on stories with Ed — and learned much when they
did.”
As managing editor in 1968, O’Donnell said, Cony hired the paper’s first
black newsroom staffers and pushed for a diverse newsroom throughout his
career.
“He also put into writing the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policies
— decades before other newspapers did,” O’Donnell said.
Not only that, O’Donnell said, but he had a great sense of humor.
In addition to other Dow Jones positions, Cony headed the Dow Jones
Newspaper Fund from 1981 to 1988.
Cony joined ASNE in 1971, and served as president in 1988 before retiring.
Prior to this, he also was president of Associated Press Managing Editors.
About the time Cony retired, he disclosed that he was suffering from
the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
He is survived by his wife Sue and six children.
