Paul Miller, 84; Ex-Chairman of Gannett Newspaper Chain

Paul Miller, a driving force in making Gannett Co. Inc. the country’s largest newspaper group and a longtime chairman of The Associated Press, died Wednesday. He was 84.

Miller died at Good Samaritan Hospital, said nursing supervisor Jill Rees. The cause of death was not divulged.

Miller was a Gannett director and consultant after his retirement as chairman of the company’s board in 1978. He stepped down as the AP’s chairman in 1977 but stayed on its board of directors for another year.

Miller spent the early part of his career as an AP writer and editor, and in 1963 became the first former employee to serve as chairman of the global news service. He was reelected annually until his retirement.

Hired in 1932 as an editor in the AP bureau in Columbus, Ohio, Miller worked his way up to become bureau chief in Washington, a position he held through much of World War II.

He joined Gannett as an executive in 1947 and was elected its president in 1957, succeeding Frank E. Gannett. The group then included 19 daily newspapers and broadcasting stations in four states.

When Miller assumed the title of chairman of the board in 1973, Gannett’s holdings included 53 newspapers and broadcasting stations in 16 states and Guam.

Born Sept. 28, 1906 in Diamond, Mo., Miller began his career in journalism at age 15, when he won a national editorial-writing contest for high school students.

In addition to his wife, Louise, Miller is survived by a daughter, Jean Miller Gordon; three sons, Ranne, Paul T. II, Kenper; two sisters, Elizabeth Wright and Louise Campbell; a brother, Horace R. Miller; and 10 grandchildren and one great-grandson.