The Associated Press Sports Editors celebrates its 50th year in 2023. A series of interviews with the organization’s presidents will be unveiled throughout the year to mark this milestone.
John Cherwa was the APSE president in 2002-03 while sports coordinator for Tribune Company. He is interviewed by St. Louis Post-Dispatch digital sports editor Erik Hall.
He was the Tribune Company’s sports coordinator from 2002-09. He worked at the Los Angeles Times from 1980-95 and 2009-17, and he was the Chicago Tribune sports editor from 1995-2002.
Cherwa carries the legacy of being the last president that the bylaws required to serve four consecutive years in national office to ascend to the APSE presidency.
He talks at length about his work Don Skwar to create a legal affairs committee that worked with professional organizations for journalism access and online rights. He has continued to be involved in the committee since his presidency and has worked closely with Gerry Ahern during the past 10 years.
Cherwa reflects on his time covering horse racing. He also talks extensively about his term as Chicago Tribune sports editor and its coverage of the Chicago Bulls during Michael Jordan’s final three seasons.
He tells a story of putting together a panel for the 2003 APSE Conference in Dallas that included a panel of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, plus Boston Globe and ESPN journalist Bob Ryan. He also talks about the hefty bill the Chicago Tribune paid to support the 2000 APSE Conference in Chicago.
Cherwa said the first APSE Conference that he attended was in 1983 in Santa Monica, California.
Video link: https://youtu.be/Jr4kZkCQv38
If you are a former APSE president and have yet to conduct or schedule an interview, contact Erik Hall at hallerik7@gmail.com.
