J. Pulitzer Jr.; Publishing Family Scion

Joseph Pulitzer Jr., chairman of Pulitzer Publishing Co. and former editor and publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, died Wednesday of cancer at his home. He was 80.

The scion of one of the most prestigious families in journalism, Pulitzer headed the publishing company’s flagship newspaper for 31 years. He took the new title of chairman of Pulitzer Publishing in 1979.

Pulitzer, who replaced his original “III” with a “Jr.” after his grandfather died and his father dropped the designation, also served from 1955 to 1986 as chairman of the board of the Pulitzer Prizes. Awarded annually to newspapers and individual writers for excellence in journalism and literature, the prizes were established by his grandfather.

In 1987, the Pulitzer Prize board gave Pulitzer a special citation “for his extraordinary services to American journalism and letters.”

“Joseph Pulitzer (III) cast a long shadow over St. Louis journalism and the arts for half a century,” said his half-brother, Michael E. Pulitzer, president and chief executive of Pulitzer Publishing.

The first Joseph Pulitzer founded the Post-Dispatch in 1878 and later acquired the old New York World. The second Joseph Pulitzer enhanced the Post-Dispatch’s reputation.

The third, who began working for the Post-Dispatch in 1936, assumed the role of editor and publisher in 1955 on the death of his father.

In 1986, Pulitzer helped fight off a bid from a group of disgruntled family members who challenged family control of the company. The company bought the shares of the dissidents and went public to help pay the resulting debt. At that time, Pulitzer relinquished his newspaper titles to devote full time to company management.

Under his guidance, Pulitzer Publishing grew into a multimedia operation with newspapers in three states, seven television stations and two radio stations.

Pulitzer, born May 13, 1913, received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard and was a decorated naval officer in the Pacific during World War II.