First Slice 9/9/12: Otis Brumby, Marietta newspaperman who helped shape Cobb County, has died

• Jim Stawniak/CL File
• Otis Brumby

Otis Brumby, the influential owner and Marietta Daily Journal publisher who helped mold Cobb County with the newspaper’s coverage and his own civic leadership over the last 40 years, died yesterday after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 72. Known as a fierce First Amendment advocate (and by his employees as a very tough boss), Brumby was a political force. The paper he led has the most comprehensive look at his life, including comments from political and community leaders. Also worth reading: “Citizen Brumby,” former CL-er Michael Wall’s 2001 profile of the newspaper publisher. Full disclosure: I grew up with and was a high school classmate and friend of Brumby’s son, and worked at one of the MDJ’s suburban weeklies in 2005.

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