
John "Chips" Quinn Jr. |
John C. "Chips" Quinn Jr., a young editor who gathered
around him a wide range and large amounts of people, laughter
and principles, probably would be humbled to know that a newsroom
diversity program is named in his memory.
"He wouldnt have seen himself as the center of
attention or a leader, but everyone looked to him to lead,"
said his brother R.B. Quinn, a teacher and attorney in Tennessee.
Chips Quinn was a newspaper editor and journalist who valued
the differences in people. He also was a son, brother and
friend. When he died at the age of 34, his family could think
of no better way to honor and remember Chips than a program
to encourage newsroom diversity.
The Chips Quinn Scholars program began in 1991. Since then
more than 950 young journalists of color have been Scholars
during daily newspaper newsroom internships.
"Chips accepted all people," R.B. Quinn remembered.
"He would take you as you came. He wanted to be accepted
as he was, with long hair, different clothes, a unique identity.
He understood the need for individual personality. Chips made
room for a lot of people."
Longtime journalist and editor John C. Quinn Sr., an advisory
trustee of the Freedom Forum, describes his oldest son Chips
as a remarkable mix of caring, professional dedication, devotion
and a commitment to work --- and play --- hard. Chips gave
"substance and style to all the lives that he touched,"
John Quinn said.
"Out of that tragedy comes hope," he tells the
Chips Quinn Scholars. "Hope for tomorrows newsroom
diversity, hope to keep Chips spirit alive
"
As a freshman at Hamilton College, Chips Quinn went back
to the familys home in Rhode Island during a summer
break. His father assigned him and younger brother R.B. to
paint the house.
Chips "to do" list consisted of "Pick
out paint, buy the brush, find a ladder," his father
recalled. "My list said Paint the house."
John Quinn figures it was that experience that convinced
Chips that a newsroom internship, at the Herald-Dispatch
in Huntington, W.Va., was preferable to working for his father.
The internship had an impact. The following summer, Chips
got a job at the Pacific Daily News on Guam, working
on the copy desk. He went on to work as a copy editor at the
Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore.
He later returned to New England, where he joined the Providence
(R.I.) Journal in a part-time role. The job turned
out to be more full than part time. Brother R.B. Quinn remembers
times when he and Chips would plan a day of canoeing or motorcycle
polishing and the phone would ring and Chips would be off
to work the evening shift on the copy desk. Eventually, Chips
was hired full time and became assistant managing editor.
When his shift was over around 11 p.m., Chips would call
R.B. to see if he was up and ready to have a good time. "Id
almost always say I was up. It was too fun to miss out,"
R.B. said. Chips "enjoyed having fun with other people.
He was always orchestrating gatherings.
"He was a great leader in goofing off. There was always
an adventure behind it --- greater depth. Wed go out
canoeing, and hed pull out (Piet Heins) Grooks
and read funny poems by a Scandinavian writer.
"He combined the entertainment side of life and camaraderie
with the mental stimulation of intellectual challenges. Intellectual
curiosity always traveled with him," R.B. said. "He
was always having conversations with people. He gathered people
around to go to a bar, to argue sports with the bartender.
Hed go out to dinner with people from the paper and
ask Why arent newspapers covering the famine in
Africa? He figured there was more behind the famine
and wound up running a lot of stories about it."
In January 1987, Chips was named top editor of the Poughkeepsie
(N.Y.) Journal, where he began to build his staff and
establish the newspapers mission.
While Chips was editor in Poughkeepsie, his father was editor
of USA TODAY. Every evening after their respective
front pages were set for the following day, "We would
talk about how he played front-page stories and how USA
TODAY did and argue about who was right," John Quinn
said.
Chips also called his dad about a problem: He recognized
the need to get more journalists of color into his newsroom,
but his circle of professional friends and acquaintances was
largely made up of white journalists. "Where is the network
of journalists of color I can plug into?" he asked.
Chips died in an automobile accident in 1990. His parents,
John and Loie Quinn, stayed up all that night trying to find
a way to respond to the tragedy. They decided on a memorial
an internship/scholarship program to bring young journalists
of color into newspaper newsrooms. The program would select
the students, nominated by their teachers, and match them
with newspapers.
There were enough donations to name six students as the first
Chips Quinn Scholars in 1991. In the programs third
year, the Freedom Forum took over funding and administration,
increased training at an orientation program and added writing
coaches. The classes grew in size each year; classes outside
summer were added; and there are now more than 950 college
students and graduates who can proudly call themselves Chips
Quinn Scholars.
"Common traits of Chips Quinn Scholars I have observed
have been their enthusiasm for their work
-- and their loyalty
to each other and the cause. They are a special breed," said
Tom Callinan, editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer "They
get what Chips Quinn the man and the editor stood for."
Among other participating papers is Chips Poughkeepsie
Journal. "The Poughkeepsie paper is a leader in hiring
Chips Quinn Scholar interns and has hired three alums for
full-time jobs," John Quinn said.
The goal, he tells every new class of Chips Quinn Scholars,
is that "someday a Chips Quinn Scholar will call for
a job and the editor will say, Im a Chips Quinn
Scholar, too. Get over here.
"Were trying to produce that network that Chips
was looking for."
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