Pioneering Local Newspaper Publisher Elizabeth Ellis Dies at 92

MANCHESTER, CT — Elizabeth Ellis, the longtime publisher of the Journal Inquirer newspaper and a pioneer in journalism as a woman leading a news organization, died Monday at the age of 92. The newspaper announced her passing both in a story and via social media.

Ellis had a 53-year career that began in 1967, when she and her real-estate developer husband Neil acquired the Rockville Journal and the South and East Windsor Inquirer, all weeklies.

They were merged into Journal Inquirer in 1968, which is still published daily. She assumed the title of assistant publisher in 1970 and publisher in 1973. She was known as "Betty" in the newsroom. She started in a garage in the Rockville of Vernon and then moved into a sprawling industrial building in Manchester.

"As a reporter at the Journal Inquirer, I got to see firsthand Mrs. Ellis' commitment to journalism that played a vital role in the lives of its communities," said former JI staffer Tom Breen, who went on to work at the Associated Press and who is currently the Editor of UConn Today. "I’ve appreciated that even more as the news industry has changed so dramatically from what it was even 15 years ago. Mrs. Ellis’ passing is a loss for journalism and the state of Connecticut."

Added former longtime home delivery manager Patrick McCue, "It's a sad day locally for news and the business of publishing it. Betty was an advocate for local news and sports."

The newspaper grew into an 18-town regional daily under Ellis' guidance, and that guidance was a rarity with a woman at the helm.

"Betty Ellis was, without question, the driving force behind the Journal Inquirer's rapid rise from two local weekly publications to one of the state's most prominent journalism voices," said Phil Chardis, a longtime JI sports staffer who is now a spokesman for the University of Connecticut men's basketball program. "Her steadfast belief in the people’s right to know and to hold public officials accountable was equaled only by her compassion-filled and generous nature. Time and again, she proved to be unintimidated by her role as a woman in the male-dominated world of newspaper publishers."

That woman in charge also embraced the popularity of local sports coverage, Chardis added. The JI covered high school and collegiate teams and ran popular features like snow sports, golf, bowling and auto racing columns.

"On a personal note, I will always be grateful for Betty’s leap of faith to entrust her newspaper's sports section to two young writers who didn’t have the foggiest idea of what we were doing, only what we wanted to see, and felt what the public yearned to see, included," he said. "She gave us the freedom to learn and continually move the section forward to bigger and better places.

Longtime sportswriter Sherman Cain concurred with Chardis.

"Betty Ellis was a publisher who was not afraid to let her writers take on controversial, challenging stories," Cain said. "It was with her full support that the Journal Inquirer emerged as the best pound-for-pound sports section in the 1980s and 1990s. She recognized the importance of sports in a newspaper and allowed a staff that consisted of five in 1977 to grow to 10 full-timers by 1987. It was a good feeling to know she always had your back, especially when it came to legal matters. The Connecticut newspaper industry has certainly lost one of its giants and one of its pioneers."

"Betty Ellis was pure class and one of the finest people I have ever known," Chardis concluded. "My heart goes out to the Ellis family at this difficult time."

Patch editor Tim Jensen contributed to this story.