Veteran news executive Reg Murphy, who survived abduction decades ago, has died at 90

As an editor, Murphy was inspiring, said Art Harris, a newsman astatine The Constitution who aboriginal followed Murphy to San Francisco, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “That was his magic. He inspired radical by gathering them up. He was a man and a gentle persuader. I ne'er heard him rise his voice. Not everyone liked his decisions, but helium didn’t fto that dissuade him from making them.”

Murphy aboriginal served successful elder enactment roles astatine the National Geographic Society, wherever helium helped present caller media technologies expanding the planetary scope and interaction of its people and video platforms.

His reporting vocation took him crossed the globe, including to Russia, China, Japan and the Middle East, Mercer University noted successful a 2023 nonfiction astir Murphy, who attended classes determination successful the 1950s. In the U.S., Murphy stressed journalism’s value for the wellness of the state and communities.

“Journalism is, successful my mind, sacred,” helium said successful an interrogation past twelvemonth for Mercer University. “It is simply a ineffable spot to archer the information and to effort to springiness radical capable state to beryllium capable to find the information and past to prosecute it.” During his clip arsenic editorial leafage exertion astatine The Atlanta Constitution, Murphy became the absorption of a gripping communicative successful 1974, erstwhile helium was kidnapped and held for a $700,000 ransom.

The kidnapper claimed to beryllium portion of a militia radical wanting to halt “the lying of leftist newspapers.” Two days later, Murphy was released successful a motel parking batch aft the ransom was paid. Within hours of his release, his abductor was arrested astatine his location and the wealth was recovered. The antheral was aboriginal convicted and sentenced to 40 years successful situation but yet served nine.

Murphy continued his agelong and palmy vocation successful journalism. Years later, Murphy gave a firsthand relationship of that harrowing acquisition successful Golf Digest. It began erstwhile a antheral claiming helium needed assistance donating 300,000 gallons of heating lipid persuaded Murphy to thrust with him to his lawyer’s bureau to motion papers. Murphy recounted what happened erstwhile helium became suspicious.

“He was steering with his close hand, and with his near helium leaned a handgun crossed his forearm, looked over, and said, Mr. Murphy, you’ve been kidnapped,’ Murphy wrote. ”He tossed a rotation of achromatic adhesive portion onto my thigh and told maine to screen my eyes. With the weapon pointing astatine me, I did arsenic I was told and applied 3 strips from temple to temple.”

A fewer minutes later, the car stopped and the kidnapper utilized enactment to necktie his wrists down his backmost and past his ankles, Murphy wrote. Still blindfolded, Murphy was told to get successful the trunk.

“When I was successful the trunk, helium tied my wrists to my ankles down maine truthful that my assemblage formed a reverse-C,” helium wrote. “This was precise uncomfortable for my back. The trunk was shallow — if I moved my caput up adjacent a fewer inches it deed the roof. I was breathing fast, but I was besides trying to power my breath, trying not to panic.” They drove for hours until helium was led into a building, Murphy recounted.

Before being shoved betwixt a furniture and the wall, helium was allowed to talk connected the telephone to different exertion astatine The Constitution, informing him he’d been kidnapped. It became nationalist news, coming soon aft Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped by a far-left militant group.

Murphy said helium mislaid 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) during the ordeal and suffered claustrophobia from the hours spent successful the trunk. During his captivity, helium replayed successful his caput rounds of play helium had shot. Two months later, Murphy said helium was connected a play people astatine a foundation event. On astir each spread spectators from the assemblage asked for his autograph oregon to airs for a photo, helium recalled. His passionateness for play provided a therapeutic merchandise from the kidnapping, his obituary said.

Murphy became an progressive unpaid with the sport’s governing body, the United States Golf Association, and served arsenic its president successful 1994 and 1995.

“Like truthful galore USGA presidents earlier him, and since, Reg gave his clip and expertise to assistance permission the crippled of play adjacent better,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan. “The USGA, and the radical who play and emotion the crippled of golf, are amended disconnected due to the fact that of Reg’s commitment, passionateness and leadership.”

Murphy was the lad of Mae and John Lee Murphy, a schoolteacher and a store owner. He remained a beardown protagonist of Mercer, describing the schoolhouse arsenic “a spot wherever I learned thing astir the who, what, where, wherefore and however of journalism.”

He served 5 presumption connected the Mercer Board of Trustees, his obituary said. Mercer honored his achievements by renaming its Center for Collaborative Journalism arsenic the Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism.