Neal Shine, former publisher of the Detroit Free Press and mentor to generations of Michigan journalists, died Tuesday due to respiratory illness.
He was 76.
Shine lends his name to the Neal Shine Ethics Lecture, which is held annually at MSU, and he is remembered as a caring editor, mentor and friend by members of the MSU community.
"He was incredibly competent, a great editor," said MSU School of Journalism Director Jane Briggs-Bunting, who first met Shine in 1968 when he was her journalism professor at the University of Detroit. Later, she worked for him as a reporter at the Free Press.
"He just made us better," she said. "His students and reporters work all over the world. He taught us you gotta be good, you gotta be fast, you gotta be accurate and don't park your humanity at the door."
Shine began his journalism career as a copyboy at the publication in 1950. And after retiring once as senior managing editor in 1989, he returned to work as a publisher until 1995.
In 1990, Shine was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. He worked with MSU's journalism school in developing the Victims and the Media Program in 1991, and the Neal Shine lecture series on journalism ethics in 2002.
"He cared about people, which I think is what made him a great journalist," said journalism Professor Stephen Lacy, who worked with Shine for about 22 years developing the program and lecture series.
"Detroit was lucky to have someone like him," Lacy said.
In 2005, Shine told The State News the lecture series helps budding reporters understand the ethical dilemmas they could face.
"It's important for young journalists to realize that there are rules, what those rules are and that things aren't always easily solved — they aren't always black and white," he said.
This year's Neal Shine lecture will be given by Nancy Youssef, the Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers and a former Free Press reporter. It begins at 4 p.m. April 16 at Kellogg Center.
Shine also spent time as a journalism professor at Oakland University, where he helped create a journalism ethics class that eventually became a requirement in 1988.
"Having Shine as an ethics teacher was like walking in quicksand. It was incredibly tough and thought provoking," said Briggs-Bunting, who worked with Shine during her time there as a professor and director of Oakland's journalism program.
Free Press writer and former State News adviser Joe Swickard remembers Shine as a stern yet passionate editor.
"He hired me, and then put me on the spot and made me sweat," Swickard said.
Briggs-Bunting said the journalism school plans to continue offering the lecture series and may create a scholarship in Shine's name for MSU journalism students.
She added that Shine will be missed at the upcoming Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame banquet.
"We always take a few moments to mourn the journalists who are no longer with us," Briggs-Bunting said. "This year, it will be particularly poignant."
Staff writers Josh Jarman and Matt Flint contributed to this report.
