DON GILLMOR

For years, whenever a case about freedom of the press made headlines, Donald Gillmor’s phone would ring around the clock with callers seeking his input and guidance.
The attention made sense. When it came to media law, Gillmor literally wrote the book.
Gillmor, a longtime professor of journalism and mass communications at the University of Minnesota and founding figure in the school’s media law center, passed away Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 at the age of 86.
He perhaps was best known for his authoritative casebook on media law, “Mass Communication Law,” first published by West as part of their Key Series in 1970. The book found widespread adoption and stands as a groundbreaking work.
“Don was at the forefront of really defining what the field looked like,” said Albert Tims, current director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. “No one stands more at the pinnacle of that part of our field.”
Gillmor’s depth of expertise and ability to communicate made him “a fierce defender” of press freedom, Tims said. From 1984-95, Gillmor served as the founding director for the university’s Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law.
He also was a gifted teacher, said Phillip Tichenor, who joined the faculty with Gillmor in 1965. Tichenor said Gillmor valued his students as much as his scholarship and wowed classes with an ability to speak eloquently on just about any topic.
In addition to Mass Communication Law, his many articles and books include “Power, Publicity, and the Abuse of Libel Law” (1992), “Media Freedom and Accountability” (co-editor, 1989), “Enduring Issues in Mass Communication” (co-editor, 1978), and “Free Press and Fair Trial” (1966).
He was a frequent guest on radio and television regarding discussions of media, and made dozens of presentations to community groups and academic and professional gatherings.
In 1999, he received the Al McIntosh Distinguished Service to Journalism Award from the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
Gillmor’s first award for distinguished teaching was made by students, faculty, and alumni of the University of North Dakota in 1959. He received two similar awards from the Minnesota Press Club in 1975 and 1978.
In 1993, he received the Horace T. Morse-Minnesota Alumni Association Award for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education. Ball State, Saint Cloud State, and Washington and Lee universities gave him First Amendment awards in 1984, 1992, and 1993, respectively.
He was cited for “contributions to student experience” by the University of Minnesota student Alumni Board of Governors in 1985, and received the George Hage/Mitch Charnley Award of Excellence from the Minnesota Daily Alumni Association in 1996.
That same year, he received the Constitutional Law Award from the Minneapolis law firm of Mansfield, Tanick and Cohen. In 2009, he received the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication Alumni Society’s Award for Excellence.
In 1990, Gillmor was selected as a Senior Fellow at the Gannett Center for Media Studies at Columbia University and assigned to Columbia’s law faculty. He also was a visiting professor of American Studies and Mass Communication at the University of Munich in Germany and a visiting professor of political science at the University of Lund in Sweden.
He also lectured in Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan.
He always was available to local and national publications and broadcasters for advice on questions of media ethics and law. And he served on numerous professional and academic boards and committees.
“You could hear other faculty listen to his lectures and say, now that’s a teaching model to emulate,” Tichenor said.
The same gifts made Gillmor, who retired in 1998, a charmer and a hit outside of the classroom. When former faculty colleague and longtime friend Irving Fang first visited the university in 1969, Gillmor stood out.
“I cannot tell you why he made such a strong impression, but one thing I knew is I wanted to be his friend,” Fang said. “He had a hundred people who probably regarded him as their best friend.”
Fang was the frequent subject of cartoon send-ups Gillmor liked to draw of fellow faculty members to pass the time during slow meetings.
The pair also got a frequent laugh out of speculating where Gillmor should release the squirrels he caught on his property. Gillmor regarded the creatures as a menace, but insisted on trapping and relocating them humanely.
Gillmor was born in Fort Frances, Ont. in 1926. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba in 1949 and his Master’s from the University of Minnesota the following year.
Gillmor is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sophie; daughter, Vivian Cathcart of Toronto, Ont.; son, Peter; and grandsons; Steven Cathcart, and Kevin and Geoffrey Gillmor.
He also is survived by his brothers, Douglas and Alan.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 at 4 p.m. at the Roseville Memorial Chapel, 2245 N. Hamline Ave. in Roseville, Mn.
In memoriam gifts will be accepted at the Donald Gillmor Fund at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.