Obituary for former BJ assistant city editor Arnold Miller

By Grant Segall, Elyria Chronicle-Telegram

WESTLAKE -- Gruff and inspiring, Arnold Miller spent 25 years as managing editor of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

After two recent strokes, the Westlake man died Thursday morning at the nearby Hospice of the Western Reserve. He was 81.

Arnold Miller

In 2002, Miller was inducted to the Press Club of Cleveland's Hall of Fame. The plaque says, "He was a boss who was tough but fair, known for his energy, humor, precise editing and his ability to motivate others to excel."

He used to hold a daily meeting at 8 a.m. to plan the afternoon newspaper. But he hated sticking to plans. At 10 a.m., two hours before press time, he'd pace the newsroom, asking, "Isn't there any news going on?"

Later, he'd post the work of local competitors on the wall with the penciled caption, "Where were we?"

According to long-time colleague Dave Knox, now managing editor of the Medina Gazette, Miller moved the Chronicle-Telegram ahead of the times technologically, with early computers and color newsprint.

But he kept editing printouts by hand, penciling "good story" when merited. He also banged out memos on his Royal typewriter and penciled in corrections. Upon retiring in 1997, he got permission to take the Royal home.

Scott Stephens, former reporter at the Chronicle-Telegram and The Plain Dealer, said, "He had a sixth sense of what a story was and how that story should be told. He understood the power of a newspaper, and he understood the responsibility of using that power wisely. Personally, he had a gruff exterior but really was a softie underneath. He cared very deeply about newspapers, and he cared very deeply about newspaper people."

Miller was raised in Glenville and helped gather scrap metal for World War II. Not owning a bicycle, he had to muster his moral strength to turn in a nearly new bicycle.

He graduated from Glenville High School, served in the Army in Germany and France and earned a bachelor's degree at Kent State University in 1956. He worked as a copy editor at the News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind., assistant city editor at the Akron Beacon Journal and managing editor of the Morning Herald in Hagerstown, Md. From 1969 to 1972, he was a reporter, columnist and assistant news editor at the Press.

Miller spent the next 25 years managing a Chronicle-Telegram newsroom of up to 50 people. He led coverage of race riots and Terry Anderson's captivity in Lebanon. He oversaw investigations of license bureaus and the Davis-Besse nuclear plant.

He sent reporters undercover to a doctor who gave them copious drugs. A lawyer tried to dilute the story, but Miller ran it at full strength, saying "It's true." He was president of the Ohio United Press International Editors Association and belonged to other professional groups. He lived in University Heights and moved to Westlake many years ago.

In retirement, he wrote many letters to editors, often about the quality of their pages. Last year, he praised a Plain Dealer story about massage parlors: "It certainly did not rub me the wrong way."

Arnold Miller

1931-2013

Survivors: Children, Adrienne of Vancouver, Wash., Evan of Kirkland, Wash., Bryn of Eugene, Ore. and Alyssa Miller Knight of San Francisco; and three grandchildren.

Funeral: 2 p.m. Sunday at Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz, 1985 S. Taylor Rd., Cleveland Heights.

Contributions: Hospice of the Western Reserve, 17876 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, OH 44110, hospicewr.org.

Arrangements: Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz.