Bean (BS ’66, journalism) receives California Press Foundation’s Philip N. McCombs Achievement Award

Gerald A. “Jerry” Bean, a journalism alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is this year’s recipient of the California Press Foundation’s Philip N. McCombs Achievement Award. Bean has been in the newspaper business since 1957. Jerry was a part-time sports reporter and printer’s devil for his hometown newspaper while still in high school. He grew up in Lacon, Illinois. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1966, Bean moved to Rockford, III., where he had served as a summer reporting intern with what is now the Rockford Register Star, then a locally owned 90,000-circulation morning-afternoon daily. Over the years, he moved through the newsroom and general management ranks. Gannett bought the paper in 1967, opening up tremendous opportunities for advancement. 

Read California News Publishers Association's full story on Bean's achievement.