Sam McKeel, former publisher of The Inquirer and Daily News, has died at the age of 97

Sam McKeel, 97, of Gladine, former publisher of The Inquirer and Daily News, president and CEO of the Sun-Times Co. in Chicago, former CEO of the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio, former reporter for the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina, longtime community activist, mentor and Navy veteran, died Tuesday, May 7, of complications from a stroke at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

From 1971 to 1989, Mr. McKeel was chief executive officer, president, publisher and chairman of the board of directors of Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. which at that time owned The Inquirer and Daily News. He played a leadership role in the company's struggle for financial survival in the 1970s and subsequent rapid growth in the 1980s. He was hired as general manager of The Inquirer and Daily News in 1971, became president in 1975, and was named newspaper publisher and chairman of the board of PNI in 1986.