Frank A. Daniels Jr.

Frank Arthur Daniels Jr. (September 7, 1931 – June 30, 2022) was an American newspaper publisher and president. He was publisher and president of The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1971 to 1996. Daniels was an early user of the Internet for news delivery, establishing one of the first online newspapers. He was also a chairman of the Associated Press.

Early life Frank A. Daniels Jr. was born on September 7, 1931, in Raleigh, North Carolina. His parents were Ruth (née Aunspaugh) and Frank Arthur Daniels Sr., who was publisher The News & Observer newspaper from 1941 to 1971. The newspaper was purchased by his grandfather, Josephus Daniels, in 1894, serving as its editor and publisher until he died in 1941. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an AB in history in 1953. He became its business manager in December 1959 and, later, its treasurer. He was inducted into the NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame in 1996. He also received the A.E. Finley Award for Public Service and was named the North Carolina Press Association's North Carolinian of the Year. The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media established the Frank A. Daniels Jr. Executive-in-Residence Program in his honor in 2020.

Personal life Daniels married Julia Jones on New Bern, North Carolina on June 4, 1954. They had two children, Julia Graham Daniels and Frank A. Daniels III.

Daniels was a member of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. He served as a trustee at Appalachian State University, Peace College, Saint Mary's College, Woodberry Forest School, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Institute of Private Enterprise. He was chairman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Board and served on the boards of the North Carolina Museum of History, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the United Way of Raleigh, and the Raleigh YMCA.

Daniels was a president of the Raleigh Kiwanis Club and chairman of Rex Hospital, the Triangle United Way, and the United Arts Council of Wake County. He was a director of the RDU Airport Authority. He was a member of the Raleigh Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Presbyterian Church.

Daniels died in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 30, 2022, at the age of ninety. He was buried in Historic Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.