John Stewart Bryan III, chairman of the Media General board since 1990, died Saturday in Richmond, Va., from complications due to neck injuries sustained in a fall earlier this month. He was 77.
Bryan, who served on active duty as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer from 1960-62, spent more than five decades in the local media business. The publisher of four newspapers — the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond News Leader, The Tampa Tribune and The Tampa Times — he was elected to Media General’s board of directors in 1974, vice chairman and executive VP in 1985 and finally chairman, president and chief executive in 1990. Although he handed over his role as Richmond Times-Dispatch publisher and Media General chief executive in 2005, he stayed on as chairman of the board.
An active member on the boards of the George C. Marshall Foundation, Virginia Historical Society and Bryan Brothers Inc., Bryan had previously served as a trustee or director on numerous other groups, including the American Newspaper Publishers Association, Newspaper Association of America, Associated Press, and foundations at such colleges as Stanford, Unversity of South Florida, University of Tampa and University of Virginia, his alma mater.
His honors included laureate of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame and Richmond Business Hall of Fame, lifetime achievement award of the Virginia Press Association and the medal of honor of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Bryan is survived by his wife Lisa-Margaret Stevenson Bryan, his two daughters and five grandchildren.
