John Honderich

John Allen Honderich, (July 6, 1946 – February 5, 2022) was a Canadian businessman, journalist, and editor who was publisher of the Toronto Star from 1994 to 2004. He previously served as its editor from 1988, the same year his father, Beland Honderich, retired as publisher of the paper.

Early life Honderich was born in Toronto in 1946. He was one of three children of Beland Honderich and his first wife, Florence. His father was also an editor and publisher of the Toronto Star from 1955 until 1988, and one of his uncles was the British–Canadian philosopher Ted Honderich. Honderich attended junior college in Switzerland, before studying at the University of Toronto.

Career Honderich first worked as an office boy and night reporter for the Ottawa Citizen in 1973.

Honderich acted as chair of The Canadian Press from 2001 to 2004. Honderich became chair of Torstar in 2009,

Awards and honours Honderich was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in October 2003 and invested in May of the following year. He was later conferred the Order of Ontario in 2005. He was the 2019 recipient of the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s lifetime achievement award.

Personal life Honderich was married to writer Katherine Govier. Together, they had two children: Robin and Emily. They divorced in 1997, and Honderich did not remarry. Robin was the Star director of editorial analytics and content monetization at the time of Honderich's death.

Honderich died from a heart attack at his home in Toronto on February 5, 2022, at the age of 75.