Reg Murphy, former Baltimore Sun publisher and kidnapping survivor, dies at 90

John Reginald “Reg” Murphy, a former publisher of The Baltimore Sun who survived a politically-motivated kidnapping while leading The Atlanta Constitution, died from natural causes on November 9 at his home in St. Simons Island, Georgia. He was 90.

Murphy began his journalism career as an undergraduate at Mercer University in the 1950s, covering local news, sports, and the state capitol for The Macon Telegraph. He went on to serve as a reporter and then editor of The Atlanta Constitution, where he was most proud of his work giving voice to the civil rights movement and chronicling the South’s progress during a turbulent era.

In 1959, Mr. Murphy was chosen as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, a prestigious mid-career fellowship for journalists. He later served as editor and publisher of the San Francisco Examiner and publisher and CEO of The Baltimore Sun from 1981 to 1991. After leaving the paper, he and other investors bought Baltimore magazine, which they later sold.

Though Murphy excelled in executive roles, he remained devoted to journalism and its role in society. In the 1990s, he joined the senior leadership of the National Geographic Society, serving as president and CEO from 1996 to 1998 and helping expand the organization’s global reach through new media and technologies.

Murphy’s life took a dramatic turn in 1974 when, as editorial page editor of The Atlanta Constitution, he was kidnapped and held for ransom. The highly publicized ordeal, in which he was freed after two days when the newspaper paid a $700,000 ransom, led him to develop a lifelong love of golf as a form of therapeutic release, according to an obituary.

In later years, Murphy joined the board of directors of Omnicom, the global marketing and communications corporation, and served on the board for nearly two decades.

Full details, including survivors, are included in the obituary.