Mark Turner

Mark Turner is the former executive news editor at the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, where he supervised daily presentation and production. Turner began his journalism career in Northeast Louisiana reporting on crime, courts and education for the News Star in Monroe, Louisiana. He then became the deputy features editor, moving into the area of copy editing and news design. Turner has won numerous awards in newspaper design, a large focus during his 21-year stint at the Beacon Journal which began in 1998.

A native of Louisiana, Turner graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and received a master’s degree in media management from Kent State University.

Pursuing a doctoral degree at Kent State in communication with emphasis on media, society and technology, Turner’s academic research has focused on the impact of diversity and inclusion in newsgathering and media leadership. His most recent areas of study have explored the perceptions by young journalists concerning their roles in a volatile news media environment and the relationship between social movements popularized online and news media coverage of them. Turner authored two book chapters in the 2014 anthology “We Are What We Sell” (Praeger): “Extra. Extra. Read All About It. Early Advertising in Newspapers” (Vol. 1) and “Social Consciousness in Advertising: The Crying Indian and More” (Vol. 2).

Turner began as an adjunct at Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2006, teaching magazine and news design, copy editing, ethics, and courses in multimedia techniques and storytelling.

Turner is a former fellow of the Robert C. Maynard Media Management training program at Kellogg Business School at Northwestern University and the Newspaper Association of America’s NAMME (National Association of Minority Media Executives) Leadership Development Institute. He is involved with national media organizations including the National Association of Black Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the American Copy Editors Society. As an NABJ member, he has served most recently as an editing mentor for the organization’s student media program during its annual conferences.

Turner also serves as the scholarship committee chair for the John S. Knight Memorial Journalism Fund. The scholarships honor the late editor and founder of Knight-Ridder newspaper chain as well as public relations pioneer Ludel Sauvageot and the Akron (Ohio) Press Club.