Ralph L. Millett, Jr. (1919 - 2000)

	Ralph L. Millett, Jr. was born in Memphis on October 30, 1919.  His father, one of the original inductees into the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame, was editor of the Memphis Press and founder and publisher of The Penny Bee in Dallas.
	Young Ralph, one of four children, was a frequent visitor at his father's newspaper office. He absorbed surprising details of newspaper life and announced at the age of six that he wanted to become a newspaper editor. He attended the University of Wyoming and the University of Missouri, where he obtained a journalism degree in 1942.   But before graduation, he spent the summer of 1941 as a cub reporter for the Memphis Press-Scimitar.  
	After graduating, he joined the Navy as a seaman and served in the Marshall Islands and Palau Island campaigns during World War II. He also was an instructor in the Fleet Radar Center at Pearl Harbor. Between tours of duty, he returned to Memphis and married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Virginia Smith.  After the war, Mr. Millett was discharged as a lieutenant, second grade.
	He returned to the University of Missouri as a teaching assistant and attended graduate school. When a job opening occurred on the copy desk of the Knoxville News-Sentinel, he arranged an interview with managing editor C.W. Orcutt.  Because Mr. Millett had little experience, Orcutt was reluctant to hire him. Mr. Millett offered to work a day for free and invited Orcutt to evaluate his performance and then decide whether or not to hire him.  By the end of that day, Mr. Millett had a full-time job. 
	Within six months, he was copy desk chief. Thirteen months after that promotion, he became news editor, a position he held until he was named editor January 1, 1967. He replaced long-time editor Loye W. Miller, who has since been elected to the Hall of Fame.
	As editor, Mr. Millett worked tirelessly for open government, for the rights of citizens to know what goes on inside government closed-door sessions. He chaired several TPA committees, including the FOI committee from 1971 to 1974, and worked with legislators open government issues.  His efforts resulted in the Newsman's Shield Law, also known as the Freedom of Information Act or the Tennessee Shield Law, in 1973 and the Sunshine Law of Tennessee in 1974.
	The National Freedom of Information Center gave the Sunshine Law the highest score of any other in the nation and awarded Mr. Millett a citation for his work.  This law became a template for similar laws throughout the country.
	Mr. Millett also was heavily involved in Radio Free Europe, which broadcast unfettered news into European communist countries whose governments censored news.
	During his 18-year tenure as editor of the News-Sentinel, he guided the newspaper from lithography to complete computerization, and completed its transformation from afternoon to morning newspaper.  Mr. Millett served the Knoxville community in many capacities.  He supported higher education as well, serving as one of the original editors-in-residence at the University of Tennessee.
	Mr. Millett was a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the American Newspaper Publishers Association. He was president of the Tennessee Association of Associated Press Newspapers and a member of the advisory commission on consumer protection for Gov. Buford Ellington.
	Mr. Millett retired on October 30, 1984. He and Mrs. Millett traveled extensively after retirement, until her death in 1995.  Mr. Millet died on December 9, 2000.  The Milletts had four children:  Jan Millett Cunningham; Ralph Linwood Millett III; Alice Millett Rainer; and Mary Jo Millett Gordon.
	Ralph L. Millett, Jr.  believed a newspaper had a sacred obligation to tell readers the truth. This was the foundation of his fight for freedom of information.