George Gill, who joined The Courier-Journal as a copy editor in 1960 and rose to publisher through the Louisville paper's tumultuous 1986 sale from the Bingham family to Gannett, died yesterday. He was 75 and lived in nearby Oldham County, Ky., according to the newspaper.Gill (left) was known for his "gruff manner, sardonic wit and abiding passion for good journalism," the paper said in his obituary. Mike King, a former medical writer for the C-J, recalled nervously approaching Gill in 1972 about a permanent reporting job while working as a college intern there.
Gill growled, “I don’t know — we don’t let just anybody work here.” Finally, as King's internship was almost over, Gill called him in and said, “I reckon we could use you. You can stay." King asked for a $175 weekly salary — the amount his colleagues said he should demand. Gill replied: “You’ll start at $150 and be damn happy about it."
Gill retired from the paper in 1993. Kay Gill, his wife of 52 years, said he had been in poor health in recent years and died about 6:30 p.m. yesterday after being hospitalized several days for an illness.
[Photo: Gill in 1992, C-J]
One of his great redeeming qualities was that he sneeringly tossed most of the Gannett corporate directives into the circular file. Then Gannett sacked management from top to bottom.
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