Paul Driscoll, an Associated Press journalist and newsroom leader who covered the civil rights movement and 1968 Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago, died Friday. He was 91.
He died at his home in Cadyville, New York, with his wife of 35 years, retired AP journalist Lindsey Tanner, holding his hand. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in July and had entered hospice care earlier this month, Tanner said.
Driscoll was the day supervisor in the AP's Chicago bureau in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the bureau didn't have a news editor. This made him the day-to-day leader in the newsroom at a time when the city produced a steady flow of major news, said John Dowling, his former colleague and a retired AP editor.
Driscoll was known for being unflappable, calm and having a good sense of humor, said Tanner, who met him when she joined the bureau. Tanner recalled the story of a correspondent in Champaign, Illinois, who called Driscoll one day to make a complaint.
鈥淧aul listened to him quietly for a little bit and said, 鈥榊ou know, I鈥檓 really sorry, but I鈥檝e got to go. There鈥檚 a plane crash at O鈥橦are,鈥欌�� Tanner said. 鈥淪o he did his job and he tried to still be civil with the people that he worked with.鈥�
Dowling said Driscoll treated colleagues with kindness and respect and they respected his judgment and common sense.
鈥淧aul was a leader in the newsroom without being a boss," Dowling wrote in an email, adding Driscoll put his colleagues in a position to succeed. 鈥淗e epitomized the people who make the AP report happen every day without ever being at center stage.鈥�
Sarah Nordgren, a retired AP deputy managing editor, remembered Driscoll as a patient but demanding editor who pushed her toward better reporting, smarter quotes and the right story structure.
鈥淧aul was an elegant editor and mentor,鈥� Nordgren said, adding he was a smart, funny leader and a kind man.
James Peipert, a former AP journalist, recalled filing a story in Chicago about The Beatles during the band's second U.S. visit in 1964. Driscoll, his supervisor, edited a message he was preparing with scheduling details for the AP bureau at the group's next destination.
鈥淚n the euphoria of the moment, I ended the message with 鈥榊eah, Yeah, Yeah,鈥欌�� Peipert said. 鈥淧aul read the message, kind of smiled, looked at me and crossed out the 鈥榊eah, Yeah, Yeah.鈥� Paul was always the professional.鈥�
Driscoll was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, on October 4th, 1933. He spent most of his life in the Chicago area but moved to Three Oaks, Michigan, in 2017 and then to northern New York in 2023 when Tanner retired from the AP.
Driscoll is survived by Tanner; their son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters aged 6 and 3; and two brothers. His older son from a previous relationship died in 2019.
Audrey Mcavoy, The Associated Press
