Geoff Brown
Journalist Geoffrey (Geoff) Franklin Brown was born on October 30, 1952, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to George F. and Helen V. Brown. Brown attended the Episcopal Cathedral School in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and graduated from Greensburg-Salem (Pennsylvania) High School in 1970. He went on to receive his B.A. degree in English literature from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1974.
Upon graduation, Brown returned to Pennsylvania where he was hired as a general assignment reporter for the Pittsburgh Press. He worked at the Pittsburgh Press from 1974 to 1975, and again from 1977 to 1978. He also had two stints at Jet magazine, from 1975 to 1977 and 1978 to 1980, where he held various positions, including entertainment writer, copy editor, co-managing editor and features editor. He was then hired by the Chicago Tribune in 1980 as a copy editor. Brown went on to serve as the Tribune’s national/foreign news editor, north suburban bureau chief, and entertainment editor. In 1998, he was promoted to associate managing editor for entertainment; in 2000, he became associate managing editor for lifestyle/features. In 2009, Brown returned to duty as the Chicago Tribune’s associate managing editor for entertainment, where he supervised the daily Arts & Entertainment, Dining, Movies and On The Town sections, plus the daily and Sunday Comics pages, and related online content. In April of 2015, Brown was named the Tribune’s operations and development editor.
Brown received the Chicago Tribune’s Jones-Beck Award for Outstanding Professional Performance in 1988, and was awarded a fellowship at Maynard’s Institute of Journalism Education in 1989. He was also honored by Chicago’s Bridge to Work program, a South Side welfare-to-work program that emphasized preparing people for getting a job as well as navigating the workplace.
Geoff Brown was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 25, 2014.
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Male
4/25/2014
Brown
Married
Franklin
School On The Hill
Episcopal Cathedral School
Greensburg-Salem High School
Bowdoin College
Geoffrey
Pittsburgh
BRO59
Fall
Pennsylvania
Chicago, Illinois
Treat Others As You Want To Be Treated

Illinois
10/30/1952
Chicago
United States
Snickerdoodle Cookies, Oatmeal Cookies
Journalist Geoff Brown (1952 - ) was a managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, where he worked for over thirty years.
Chicago Tribune
Pittsburgh Press
Jet Magazine
Blue
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Geoff Brown's interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Geoff Brown lists his favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Geoff Brown describes his mother's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Geoff Brown describes his father's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Geoff Brown talks about his parents' education
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Geoff Brown describes his parents' personalities and who he takes after the most
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Geoff Brown lists his siblings
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Geoff Brown describes his earliest childhood memory
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Geoff Brown remembers moving frequently for his father's career in journalism
Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Geoff Brown describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood
Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Geoff Brown remembers moving from Puerto Rico to the mainland Unites States
Tape: 1 Story: 12 - Geoff Brown talks about his father's career as a journalist, pt. 1
Tape: 1 Story: 13 - Geoff Brown talks about his father's experiences of workplace discrimination
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Geoff Brown talks about his father's career as a journalist, pt. 2
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Geoff Brown talks about his early interest in journalism
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Geoff Brown remembers moving to Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Geoff Brown describes his experiences at Greensburg Salem High School in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Geoff Brown recalls the start of his career in journalism
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Geoff Brown talks about the black community at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Geoff Brown describes the racial tensions in Brunswick, Maine
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Geoff Brown remembers his mentor at Bowdoin College
Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Geoff Brown talks about his aspirations to attend graduate school
Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Geoff Brown talks about the development of his writing style
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Geoff Brown talks about his classmates at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Geoff Brown remembers his father's death
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Geoff Brown recalls his start at Jet magazine in Chicago, Illinois
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Geoff Brown talks about his contemporaries at Jet magazine
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Geoff Brown talks about his experiences as a managing editor at Jet magazine
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Geoff Brown remembers John H. Johnson and Robert E. Johnson
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Geoff Brown remembers his decision to leave Jet magazine
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Geoff Brown remembers Bill Berry
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Geoff Brown talks about meeting his wife
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Geoff Brown remembers hosting celebrities at Jet's executive lunchroom
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Geoff Brown remembers his interview with Gwen McCrae
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Geoff Brown talks about the Johnson Publishing Company's corporate counsel
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Geoff Brown describes the relationship between Jet and Ebony staff
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Geoff Brown talks about his work ethic
Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Geoff Brown talks about his colleagues at the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 4 Story: 9 - Geoff Brown describes his experiences at the Chicago Tribune during Mayor Harold Washington's election
Tape: 4 Story: 10 - Geoff Brown reflects upon his expereinces at the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 4 Story: 11 - Geoff Brown talks about the Chicago Tribune's reputation
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Geoff Brown talks about his career path at the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Geoff Brown talks about his role as entertainment editor for the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Geoff Brown talks about covering the black community in the entertainment section of the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Geoff Brown talks about the comics section of the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Geoff Brown talks about the introduction of The Boondocks comic in the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Geoff Brown talks about the impact of the internet on print journalism
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Geoff Brown talks about Sam Zell's leveraged buyout of the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Geoff Brown describes his role at the Chicago Tribune during the financial crisis of 2008
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Geoff Brown describes the aftermath of the Chicago Tribune's bankruptcy
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Geoff Brown talks about the print side of the Chicago Tribune
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Geoff Brown describes his plans for retirement
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Geoff Brown talks about the entertainment scene in Chicago, Illinois, pt. 1
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Geoff Brown talks about the entertainment scene in Chicago, Illinois, pt. 2
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Geoff Brown talks about the lack of funding for arts education
Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Geoff Brown talks about his decisions to pull comics from the Chicago Tribune, pt. 1
Tape: 6 Story: 8 - Geoff Brown talks about his decisions to pull comics from the Chicago Tribune, pt. 2
Tape: 6 Story: 9 - Geoff Brown describes the Chicago Tribune's comic strip review committee
Tape: 6 Story: 10 - Geoff Brown talks about his editorial philosophy for newspaper comics
Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Geoff Brown talks about the future of print journalism
Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Geoff Brown reflects upon his decision to pursue a career in journalism
Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Geoff Brown reflects upon his career
Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Geoff Brown reflects upon his legacy
Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Geoff Brown narrates his photographs
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