Friends, family and supporters are mourning the passing of The Atlanta Voice president and general manager James Washington who died on Tuesday, April 2. Washington, 73, was a respected veteran of the Black Press, having established himself earlier in his career at the helm of the Dallas Weekly.
Outspoken and direct, Washington was revered by his peers for his willingness to tackle hard issues and address future challenges and solutions for Blacks in media.
Washington became the owner and publisher of Dallas Weekly in 1985 and stayed until 2018 before handing off operations to his son so he could relocate to Atlanta. In 2003 he married Janis Ware, Atlanta Voice publisher and daughter of the iconic newspaper’s founder J. Lowell Ware.
Under Washington’s leadership, the Atlanta Voice greatly expanded its digital presence to reach approximately 150,000 unique users and 200,000 monthly pageviews. “Our presence is now being demanded by readers because they want our coverage, and it’s fueling our growth because people are coming back to talk to us about a number of things,” he explained of new technology initiatives he implements at the historic publication, which threw his efforts has garnered significant national recognition for its timely and informative coverage of issues affecting metro Atlanta Black communities and citizens.
The admired leader in multi-media products and practices was once quoted as saying, “You can manage yourself into second-class citizenship. Just do inferior work,” he remarked when asked about his forward-thinking management style.
A 2019 National Association of Black Journalists Legacy Award winner, he earned a Masters Degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a proud graduate of Southern University, having graduated with a degree in English and Instructional Media. He authored his first book, Spiritually Speaking, Reflections For and From a New Christian in…
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