National Catholic Reporter’s publisher resigns unexpectedly

Washington D.C., Nov 22, 2004 / 22:00 pm

The longtime editor and publisher of the National Catholic Reporter resigned Sept. 29, citing “professional and personal reasons.”

Thomas C. Fox was at the newspaper for 25 years, holding the post of editor for 17 years and publisher for eight. His resignation will take effect Jan.1. The board of directors accepted Fox's resignation Nov. 13, and they named associate publisher Rita Larivee, a Sister of St. Anne, his successor.

The 60-year-old’s resignation comes unexpectedly at a time when the liberal newspaper is responding to the defeat of Senator John Kerry, the candidate NCR supported during the presidential campaign.

Fox brought many accomplishments to the paper, such as the establishment of an endowment and the re-opening of NCR’s Rome and Washington bureaus.

However, lately, he was accused of using the newspaper as a tool to attack political opponents. His most recent episode was an attack of Deal Hudson, a key adviser to the White House. Alerted of the personal attack against him, Hudson resigned from this post.

Fox plans to take a six-month sabbatical. He said he would consider future involvement with the publishing company but was not prepared to discuss it presently.