The Shorenstein Center lost two of its favorite people over the summer. Wolfgang Donsbach, Visiting Lombard Professor in Spring 1999, died at the age of 65 on July 26, 2015. John S. Carroll, Knight Visiting Lecturer in 2005-2006, died at the age of 73 on June 14, 2015. Both men made a large impact on the Shorenstein Center staff, faculty and fellows because of their work, but perhaps more importantly, their warmth and humanity.
Professor Wolfgang Donsbach was an internationally renowned media and communication scholar. He was the founding director of the Institute of Media and Communication at the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. He was president of the World Association for Public Opinion Research and the International Communication Association. He received the Helen Dinerman Award for his outstanding achievements in public opinion research and the David Swanson Award for his work in political communications research. In addition to many other publications, he was the editor of a twelve volume International Encyclopedia of Communication, the Concise Encyclopedia of Communication, and the Handbook of Public Opinion Research. At the Shorenstein Center, he taught a course, and later co-wrote a report on the state of journalism education with Tom Fiedler. He is survived by his wife and son. His longtime friend, Shorenstein Center acting director and Bradlee Professor Tom Patterson, delivered a eulogy at his funeral in Germany.
John Carroll was one of the most influential newspaper editors of his time. Former Shorenstein Center director Alex S. Jones said, “He was able to combine a genuine integrity with a passion for news, an ability to work well with talented and unruly journalists and the courage to do what he felt was the right thing to do.” John Carroll was the editor of three newspapers: The Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun, and The Lexington Herald-Leader and directed coverage that won Pulitzer Prizes there, and at The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was a Nieman Fellow in 1971-72, and a Fellow at Oxford in 1988. He was named Editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation in 1999. At the Shorenstein Center, John taught a course, and wrote an essay that he delivered at the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, “What Will Become of Newspapers?”. He is survived by his wife, siblings, children and grandchildren.
