Charming, curious and compassionate, Bryan Monroe, an associate professor of practice in the Department of Journalism at Klein College of Media and Communication, was one of the most well-connected and well-liked journalists of his time. On January 13, Monroe died of a heart attack in his Maryland home. However, his legacy lives on through the impact he made on family, friends, colleagues and students.
Although Monroe rose through the ranks to become a nationally known editor at national publications – including Ebony magazine and CNN Digital – Dean David Boardman remembers Monroe at the start of his journalism journey.
"I knew Bryan for almost 35 years, from when he was an intern at The Seattle Times and I was a young journalist,” Boardman said. “We remained good friends through the years, and I loved watching him soar in his career, both as an editor and as a powerful advocate for journalists of color.
“I was delighted when he agreed to apply for an opportunity here, and even more delighted when the faculty endorsed hiring him. I was thrilled to have Bryan share his wisdom, experience and enthusiasm with our students, as well as his amazing network of friends and contacts in the profession.”
Before he took on his role at Klein, Monroe was deputy managing editor for the San Jose Mercury News, and eventually became the assistant vice president for news for Knight Ridder Newspapers. In the latter role, he led journalists at the Biloxi Sun Herald to a 2006 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
Arlene Morgan, assistant dean for external affairs at Klein, previously worked with Monroe at Knight Ridder and called him “a wonderful teacher and a wonderful friend” who dedicated his career to “bringing down the walls of ignorance” that shrouded society and newsrooms alike.
Jerry Ceppos, who served as the former vice president of news at Knight Ridder and former executive editor of the San Jose Mercury News, believes that Monroe’s mentorship of young journalists was a precursor to his future role as an instructor.
“He was a great teacher: even when he was an editor he was a teacher. I learned so much from him,” Ceppos said.
David Mindich, chair of the Department of Journalism, recognized Monroe’s impact before the two were even introduced. In a book he wrote before his position at Temple, Mindich wrote about Ebony snagging the first interview post-election with then President-elect Barack Obama. When Mindich joined Klein’s faculty, he discovered that the journalist who held the interview was Monroe. Later, Mindich found out that Monroe was also the last person to land a major interview with singer Michael Jackson, who passed away in 2009. The two high-profile interviews, held when Monroe was the vice president and editorial director of Ebony and Jet magazines, were stories Monroe loved to share with his students.
Before joining Klein in 2015, Monroe was op-ed editor of CNN Digital and editorial director of CNNPolitics.com.
“He was a multimedia journalist before the term was even coined and he was the star in every area that he served in journalism,” Mindich said. “It was amazing to have someone like that in the department.”
Monroe was a force in advocacy for inclusive journalism and served as president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) from 2005-07. Dorothy Tucker, current president of NABJ, said in a written statement that Monroe “helped countless journalism professionals and students to hone their skills in achieving excellence in their craft.”
Monroe also lent his know-how to Black journalism students at Klein. Kayla Solomon, KLN ‘18, is a multimedia journalist and reporter for WMAZ-TV in Georgia, who was introduced to Monroe as a member of the Temple Association of Black Journalists (TABJ). When she served as president of the organization during her junior and senior years, she made sure to keep in contact with Monroe and decided to take his class The Entrepreneurial Journalist to learn more about business skills that aided in her development as a well-rounded media professional.
“He was one of those journalists who always wanted to give back and hoist people up,” Solomon said. “He was constantly passing opportunities along whether it was for students or not.”
Most recently, Monroe worked with other faculty, staff and media professionals as the co-leader of a content and culture audit led by Klein for The Philadelphia Inquirer, an examination focused on how the newspaper covers communities of color. Linn Washington, a professor in the Department of Journalism, worked with Monroe on the audit, which is set to be presented to the publication on February 10.
“The thoroughness and the scope of the audit itself, the material that he was able to conceptualize and actually take from an idea to executing to a final form, will be a real legacy because it provides an extraordinary roadmap for improvement and change at the Inquirer,” Washington said. “I can see this audit itself becoming a model for how the news industry can really make some substantive and long overdue gains in terms of fulfilling their mission of providing information and serving as a watchdog.”
Andrea Wenzel, assistant professor in the Department of Journalism, was the other co-leader of the audit. She recalls working together with Monroe at odd hours to get the job done, even talking with Monroe as he ran errands like picking up interesting ingredients for new recipes he tried — an adventurous quality that she said extended to all areas of his life.
“It was a real honor to be able to work and co-lead this project with Professor Monroe,” Wenzel said. “He was able to draw on such a breadth and depth of experience from his different kinds of work experiences that he had over the years.”
Monroe’s impact went far beyond his professional accomplishments. After learning the news of Monroe’s passing, Ceppos’ son Matt, who grew up around Monroe, said that he remembered Monroe as having a belly laugh that “came from the core of his being.” Solomon recalled Monroe helping to arrange a field trip for TABJ to Washington, D.C., that included office tours of NPR and NBC. Afterward, he paid for the students’ dinners before they returned to Philadelphia. Mindich reminisced on Monroe’s willingness to share pictures of his CNN experiences during previous debate nights when Klein hosted debate parties for the 2020 election cycle.
And Boardman could sum up Monroe’s impact plainly.
“He was simply a truly great man.”
Monroe has two children: Seanna Monroe, a student at Temple’s College of Science and Technology, and Jackson Monroe, who lives in Los Angeles. A scholarship fund has been established through Klein in Monroe’s honor.