Press Release: Jack Lyne, Award-Winning Author and Journalist, 1944-2011

Dec. 5, 2011, Atlanta: James Coleman “Jack” Lyne, executive editor of interactive publications for Site Selection and longtime board member of parent company Conway Data Inc., passed away in Gainesville, Fla., on Dec. 3, 2011. He was 67.

Jack Lyne

In his 27 years with Conway Data, Lyne served as editor of Site Selection for 17 years. Since 2001 he had served as editor and primary author of the SiteNet Dispatch, a weekly online newsletter, from his home in Shiloh, Fla., where he lived with his wife Laura. His work has earned numerous honors in annual competitions held by the Magazine Association of the Southeast (MAGS) and Awards for Publication Excellence (APEX), including two Grand Awards, APEX’s highest honor. Over the years he also provided strategic direction to Conway Data and to the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC), the association of corporate real estate leaders, service providers and economic developers managed by CDI.

In 2010, Lyne was selected for membership in the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. Established in 1980 by the University of Kentucky Journalism Alumni Association, the institution honors “Kentuckians who have made significant contributions to the profession of journalism.” Its members include ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas and Sirius radio host Bob Edwards, a fellow Kentuckian who was the long-time host of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Jack was without peer as a writer and storyteller in the realm of economic development journalism,” said Ron Starner, executive vice president and general manager for Conway Data. “His stories brought corporate real estate projects to life in a way that left a lasting impact on the reader. He was, quite simply, the best journalist I have ever known, but more important than that, he was an unparalleled chronicler of the human experience and one of the best human souls I have ever known. He was always the best at what he did – and his loss deeply affects every one of us.”

Immediately prior to joining Site Selection, Lyne was an on-air news commentator for Cable News Network in Atlanta. His television work also included on-air commentaries for the Kentucky PBS outlet in Lexington. Early in his professional life, Jack worked as a reporter for The Louisville Courier-Journal. In addition, his 40-plus-year career included a stint as Director of Public Relations for the Louisville (Ky.) Public Schools. There, he created, wrote, edited and designed a newsletter that won the Educational Press Association of America’s highest honor, The Golden Lamp, awarded annually to only one U.S. publication.

He is the author of the book “Schoolhouse Dreams Deferred” (1998, Phi Delta Kappa Press), a book about attempted school system reform in Louisville that eminent psychologist and author Carl Rogers called “a straightforward account of one of the boldest attempts at educational change that has been made in this country.” In that book’s introduction, Lyne called himself “one of the ink-stained wretches, a journalist for some three decades and a witness for some seven years when all that’s in these pages occurred. My only skills: I watched; I remembered; I documented.” Referring to his upbringing in Russellville, Ky. (pop. 7,500), he said of his early career, “in more ways than I could’ve possibly imagined, I was as square as a pool table and about twice as green.” Born in Greenville, Ky., Lyne received both his BA and MA in communications from the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Survivors include his wife Laura Lyne, stepson Adam Jones-Kelley of Atlanta, stepdaughter Piper Jones-Kelley of Whidbey Island, Wash.; sister June Robinson of Russellville, Ky.; step-brother Bill Locke of Springfield, Tenn.; and numerous aunts and uncles. The funeral will be a small, family graveside service Wednesday, Dec. 7. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations go to the Shiloh United Methodist Church, 11020 NW Highway 320, Micanopy, Fla. 32667-7674.

About Conway Data:
Atlanta-based Conway Data Inc. (CDI) is the parent company and publisher of Site Selection magazine. The late CDI founder and Chairman McKinley Conway began Site Selection in 1954, the first magazine ever focused on corporate real estate and economic development. In 1983, Conway also created SiteNet (www.sitenet.com), the first online network serving the development industry. In addition to publishing Site Selection, CDI manages the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC at www.iamc.org), a highly regarded association that includes many of the top real estate asset managers at the world’s largest and most successful companies.

Click here for a print-resolution image of Jack Lyne.