page_title: Akron Beacon Journal
section_title: Notable journalists
hierarchical_section_title: Akron Beacon Journal / Notable journalists
caption_attribution_description: English: The Akron Beacon Journal Headquarters, Akron, Ohio.Deutsch: Redaktionsgebäude der Tageszeitung Akron Beacon Journal in Akron im US-Bundesstaat Ohio.
context_page_description: The Akron Beacon Journal is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Journal has won four Pulitzer Prizes: in 1968, 1971, 1987 and 1994.
context_section_description: Herman Fetzer: better known as "Jake Falstaff" to the Akron Beacon Journal, Akron Times and Cleveland Press readers, was born in Maple Valley, Ohio, to Levi E. and Lydia Fetzer. After graduating from Akron's West High School, he worked as suburban reporter for the Akron Times, where in 1920 he began his column Pippins and Cheese, taking its title and his pen name from William Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. While working at the Akron Beacon Journal, his desk sat adjacent to writer Josephine Van de Grift, columnist of Demi-Tasse and Mrs. Grundy.
  Sheldon Ocker: Covered the Cleveland Indians for the Beacon Journal. Received the 2018 J. G. Taylor Spink Award; inducted him into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
  Terry Pluto: recognized as NSSA Ohio Sportswriter of the year multiple times. Wrote more than 20 books, mostly about Northeast Ohio sports.
  Josephine Van de Grift: Also known as Helen Josephine Vandegrift Rigby (born 1894), an early 20th century woman writer and columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio.  Her play, "The Lonely Road" won her a scholarship to partake in Dr. George Pierce Baker's Harvard 47 Workshop in Cambridge, Mass.  Additionally, she worked with the N.E.A. (Newspaper Enterprise Association) in New York from 1923-1925 interviewing notable persons such as John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Will Rogers, Ring Lardner, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Dorothy Parker, Joan Gardner and others.  She joined the Blue Pencil Club, an elite literary guild in 1923-1924 during the time H.P. Lovecraft was also a member.  In 1923, she went undercover as a reporter on Broadway under the pseudonym of Huldah Benson.  There was an entire segment published about the 6-part series in the nationwide newspapers.  In December 2019, author Kristin Groulx, (who is Josephine's great-granddaughter) published a biographical book about Josephine and her column "Demi-Tasse and Mrs. Grundy."  Josephine died suddenly at the age of 33 in 1927 leaving her devoted readers wondering what would become of her 18 month old daughter, Mary.  Her stories and daily column "Demi-Tasse and Mrs. Grundy" were published 1924–1927 in the newspaper the Akron Beacon Journal.  She was close friends with co-worker Herman Fetzer who went by the pen-name of Jake Falstaff, and wrote Pippins and Cheese during the same years Josephine worked at the Beacon Journal.
caption: Headquarters from 1938 to 2019
exif: {"Image Make": "EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY", "Image Model": "KODAK EASYSHARE C813 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "480", "Image YResolution": "480", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "KODAK EASYSHARE C813 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "244", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "13682", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3056", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1623/1000000", "EXIF FNumber": "24/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:03:17 16:01:02", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:03:17 16:01:02", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "463/50", "EXIF ApertureValue": "113/25", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "143/50", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "88", "EXIF FocalLength": "6", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3296", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2472", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "13530", "EXIF ExposureIndex": "80", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "36", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "-108"}