John Adams, a journalism innovator, has died at the age of 46. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2018.
Most recently, Adams served as the senior director of digital storytelling and strategy at The Arizona Republic since 2018, overseeing social media, visuals, podcasting and other efforts to connect the community with the news.
He also led efforts to turn casual readers into loyal news subscribers and grew azcentral.com digital subscribers from 30,000 to 65,000.
Republic executive editor Greg Burton, who recruited Adams to Arizona, said:
“It drove John nuts to see someone read a story and then disappear. He wanted to convert occasional readers. In journalism, you do that with consistency, with humor and humanity, with journalism that unites people with shared interests and a common goal. John did the same thing in life. He inspired people. He made them laugh. He left the world a better place.”
Previously, Adams served as deputy editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and senior deputy online editor at the Los Angeles Times.
