[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 66 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3737-H3738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO IRVING E. ROGERS, JR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to one of the 
Nation's great newspaper publishers, Irving E. Rogers, Jr., who passed 
away this morning at age 68. Mr. Rogers and his family have owned the 
Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence, Massachusetts, for 100 years, and it remains 
one of the last local family-owned newspapers in America.
  Mr. Rogers was a successful businessman, a tireless advocate for his 
readers and his community, a generous philanthropist, a devoted friend 
and, above all, a dedicated family man. His passing will be mourned by 
all those who have benefited from his wisdom, good works, and adherence 
to the highest standards of journalism. The people of Greater Lawrence 
and the Merrimack Valley and the institutions that make it a great 
place to raise a family and run a business have lost a true champion 
and a giant of a man.
  Born in Lawrence in 1929 and raised in North Andover, Mr. Rogers was 
educated at the Admiral Billard Academy in New London, Connecticut; 
Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont; and the Bently School of 
Accounting in Boston before joining the family newspaper business. He 
was the third generation of the Rogers family to run the Eagle-Tribune.
  After 22 years as general manager of the newspaper, he was named 
publisher on August 29, 1982, by his late father Irving E. Rogers, Sr. 
This was 40 years to the day after the senior Rogers had been named 
publisher by his father, Scottish immigrant Alexander H. Rogers, who 
bought the two newspapers that became the Eagle-Tribune in 1898.
  Today, Mr. Rogers' son, Irving E. ``Chip'' Rogers, III, carries on 
the family's proud tradition for a fourth generation of the newspaper's 
general manager. It is not an accident the Eagle-Tribune has been 
recognized as one of the best regional newspapers in the country. This 
is the result of Mr. Rogers' commitment to excellence in journalism and 
in maintaining the Eagle-Tribune as a family-owned newspaper that knows 
and cares about its community and covers it aggressively and fairly.
  He received the highest honor in journalism when the Eagle-Tribune 
won in 1988 the Pulitzer Prize for general news reporting for its probe 
of the Massachusetts prison furlough program. Under his leadership, the 
newspaper was also a finalist for two other Pulitzer Prizes during this 
decade for an expose on corruption by former hockey czar R. Alan 
Eagleson and coverage of the devastating fire that destroyed Malden 
Mills and the heroic effort to rebuild the plant in the heart of 
Lawrence's poorest neighborhood. The Eagle-Tribune has also been named 
New England Newspaper of the Year 13 times.
  While winning awards every year for quality reporting and public 
service, Mr. Rogers was also making business decisions that allowed the 
Eagle-Tribune to remain in family hands at a time when publications 
across the country were being taken over by chains and corporations. He 
purchased the Andover Townsman, moved into New Hampshire when he bought 
the

[[Page H3738]]

Derry News, and recently negotiated the purchase of the Haverhill 
Gazette.
  When the Eagle-Tribune outgrew its original headquarters in downtown 
Lawrence, he opened a modern plant in North Andover and became a 
pioneer in the use of photos, color graphics, and bold newspaper 
design, while insisting that his newspaper maintain traditional 
standards of fairness and language.
  He was devoted, generous, and always available to his 400 employees. 
When the newspapers of New England were hit by a brutal recession in 
the early 1990s, advertising revenues declined and newsprint costs 
soared. Mr. Rogers was a rarity. He never issued a layoff notice.
  He also showed an unwavering commitment to his private charity. He 
was a generous benefactor to so many important institutions in the 
Merrimack Valley led by the Rogers Family Foundation: the Lawrence Boys 
and Girls Club, Merrimack College, the United Way, Holy Family 
Hospital, Lawrence General Hospital, St. Mary's Church, the American 
Cancer Society, St. Michael's Church, and countless other community 
organizations. Every year, the Eagle-Tribune Santa Fund provides 
hundreds of thousands of dollars for the needy at Christmas.
  Mr. Rogers was a friend to presidents and governors and leaders of 
industry. Despite his great influence, he was an unassuming man. He 
walked his dog every morning, he lunched at the Lantern Brunch in 
Andover, and fished off Seabrook Beach and Gloucester. His priority was 
always his wife Jacqueline and children Chip, Debbie, Marty and Steve, 
along with his grandchildren, and the nieces and nephews left by his 
brother, Allan B. Rogers, a former Eagle-Tribune editor who died in 
1962.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have known Irving Rogers as a friend and 
admired him as a leader in our community. My wife Ellen and I extend 
our deepest sympathies to him and his family.

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