John Howell, acknowledged Dean of Rhode Island newspapers, recently sold a majority interest in Beacon Communications, after decades of his stewardship.
Now Beacon Media, the company includes the Warwick Beacon, Cranston Herald, Johnston Sun Rise, and the Reminder in Coventry.
In an illustrious career that has spanned over 54 years, John still holds the title of Editor of the Warwick Beacon.
Though his accomplishments can fill an entire newspaper, he is justifiably proud of a few in particular: the Rhode Island Academic Decathlon, MENTOR Rhode Island, and leading the charge to preserve public space at our beloved Rocky Point.
It would be hard to mention a local organization that John did not help or promote, or a story of importance that John did not bring vividly to his readers.
John was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Connecticut. After graduating from high school, he attended Whitman College, transferring to American University in DC, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1964. During that year, he went to work for Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who was a candidate for President. When Rockefeller lost, John worked for U.S. Senator Kenneth Keating. After Keating lost his reelection bid, he sought a job in public relations. On his first interview, he was told he needed to “learn how to write.”
He took a job at the Port Chester, New York, Daily Item and was assigned to cover Greenwich, Connecticut. After two years, he applied to the Washington Post.
The Post was not in the cards, but he landed a job at the Hartford Times, where he served as a bureau chief. He wanted to run a paper and came to the Ocean State as editor of the East Providence Post. In 1969, John and a fellow employee at the Post, Tony Ritacco, purchased the Beacon. Together, they launched the Seekonk Sentinel, Coventry Townsman, Newport This Week, East Side in Providence, and started Beacon Press, a printing company.
John and Carol Bo Howell, his wife of many years, have been the bedrock of the communities they serve.
John is the personification of what it means to be a member of the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Here are a few of his accomplishments.
He co-founded the Rhode Island Academic Decathlon (he is still President).
He was the driving force to save Rocky Point and chairs the Rocky Point Foundation.
He chaired the Education Foundation of the Warwick Chamber of Commerce.
He is a past president of the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) Board of Trustees and past president of Kent House, now Bridgemark.
He has been a member of the Warwick Rotary Club for more than 50 years, a past chairman of MENTOR Rhode Island, and a past board member of the Metcalf Foundation.
He served on the boards of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education and the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority.
John is recognized as a member of the Halls of Fame for the Press Associations of Rhode Island and New England, the Bishop Hendricken Hall of Fame, and the CCRI Hall of Fame.
John Howell is a Rhode Island treasure.
He was inducted into the Rhode Heritage Hall of Fame in 2025.