WARWICK – Even after she left Beacon Communications Inc. two decades ago to pursue careers in government and public relations, Joy E. Fox still has a love for local journalism. She remembers when John Howell, the company’s owner and publisher, first took a chance on her to deliver news to her community.
Now, Howell is taking another chance on Fox, currently the CEO of Jamestown-based Clarendon Group – which operates Clarendon Communications – and a former U.S. congressional candidate, in a much larger capacity as there will be a changing of the guard at Beacon Communications.
The newspaper company, which publishes the Warwick Beacon, Cranston Herald, Johnston Sun Rise and The Reminder shopping guide, announced Thursday that Fox will become Beacon Communications’ new publisher, and soon new owner. Fox will succeed Howell, who first acquired the Warwick Beacon in 1969 and has been its editor since.
“I’m incredibly humbled and honored to be the one to keep these papers thriving for the next 50 years,” Fox told Providence Business News on Thursday. “Now [Howell] is taking a chance on me again.”
[caption id="attachment_466418" align="alignleft" width="297"]
JOY E. FOX, a former reporter and editor of Beacon Communications Inc. who ran for Congress in 2022, will become the newspaper company's new publisher and, soon, its new owner. / COURTESY CLARENDON GROUP[/caption]
Fox says now is a critical time for local newspapers given their importance to the local community. She says a lot has changed in journalism over the last 20-plus years, but Fox says she has a very positive outlook for local news because she believes in the power of it.
According to the R.I. Secretary of State’s Office, Fox registered a new limited liability company named Beacon Media RI LLC. She also told Beacon Communications that it is not a secret that community newspapers “face an uphill climb financially.” But she said she looks forward to engaging with the community to make sure the newspapers last for another five to six decades and the ultimate goal is to “reach a bigger audience and more people” than before.
Fox’s career started with Beacon Communications as an intern while attending St. Mary Academy – Bay View and then she became a reporter and editor of the Cranston Herald. She held that role from 2001 to 2003. She also worked as a journalist with both WJAR-TV NBC 10 and PBN.
Afterward, Fox moved on to working in government. She previously served as then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s communications director, as well as Raimondo’s transition director and a deputy campaign manager. She also worked with then-U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin as his director of communications and community relations.
In 2022,
Fox ran for Langevin’s vacant 2nd Congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives before falling in the Democratic primary to current U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I.
Howell, who previously served on the Rhode Island Press Association’s executive board and is a 2006 Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame inductee, on Thursday told PBN that Fox reached out to him after her quest for elective office ended and asked about the future of Beacon Communications. When Howell asked if she was interested in taking over the company at the time, Fox said she was “thinking about it,” Howell said.
Howell also said he wanted Beacon Communications to remain in local hands to “keep local papers thriving” and building for a future, both for the papers and the state. He also did not want his company to fall victim to a corporate entity depleting its operations. Over the years, Gannett Co. has made several reductions in the staff and operations of various newspapers it owns, including at the Providence Journal, the Newport Daily News, the Fall River Herald News and the New Bedford Standard-Times.
“Once one of those conglomerates comes in, what do they do? They say, ‘How can we make the bottom line,’ ” Howell said. “So, they close all these local offices and centralize it, cherry-pick reporters. You really lose that relationship to the community that is important to local newspapers.”
When asked about Fox maintaining objectivity in the newspapers’ coverage even though she has been strongly affiliated with the Democratic Party, Howell said he trusts Fox’s judgment and is not looking to “step in and dictate editorial policy.”
Fox agreed, noting it’s important to present balanced stories to the community and said she sees “no reason” why that would change.
Howell said he hopes the sale agreement with Fox will be finalized next month, and that it will remain separate from Clarendon. He said there are no immediate changes planned with the company once Fox assumes the leadership roles, however he hopes she will help improve Beacon Communications’ office infrastructure.
Fox said she first plans to meet and get to know the company’s employees and the newsroom’s rhythm, and then address any infrastructure matters after the sale is complete.
Howell, who is planning to remain on as an editor with the Warwick Beacon, did not disclose terms of the pending sale, but rather said that he is “not looking for money.”
“I’m looking to build a future for the paper and the people working for it,” Howell said.
(UPDATED throughout with comments from Joy E. Fox.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
