Nov 22, 2007 7:32 am US/Eastern
Baltimore Pioneer Journalist Honored After Death
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Frances Murphy II, the publisher emeritus of the Afro-American Newspaper, has died.
CBS
Frances Murphy II, the publisher emeritus of the Afro-American Newspaper, has died.
They called her Frankie Lou, the granddaughter of the founder of the Afro-American newspaper chain. She's remembered as a reporter whose dedication to journalism was second to none.
The life of Frances Murphy II parallels a century's greatest challenges and achievements--The Great Depression, segregation and World War II. By the 1950s, she was a reporter covering the nation's turbulent civil rights movement, Vietnam, as well as the King and Kennedy assassinations.
"She had been sick for the last five weeks. We discovered shortly after her birthday, the later part of October, that she had a series of fairly rare diseases, including cancer," said Jake Oliver.
Oliver, Afro's publisher, will miss Murphy's council, advice that came through her family's journalistic legacy.
Her grandfather John founded the Afro 115 years ago. Her mother, Vashti Turley Murphy, was a co-founder of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She became a publisher in Baltimore and Washington.
"She was really taught by some of the old masters of the black journalism, when black folks weren't really permitted to do very much, except in their own backyards and their own businesses," Oliver said.
So is it possible to replace a Frances Murphy? And how can the next generation of journalists rise to her standards?
"It was like going home to Ma. She would always give the news about what's goin' on in the community village and people are going to miss that. It's gonna be hard to replace that," Oliver said.
He says you can always find another reporter but it will be difficult to find another Frankie Lou. Funeral services are set for the Thursday after Thanksgiving. The time and place are still in the planning stages.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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