Managing Editor Rick Hall was the paper's city editor when Hughes came on board in 1997.

"I thought we were working pretty hard and putting out a pretty good newspaper before John arrived. And we were. But John turned up the heat. He raised the bar. For John, excellence is the only acceptable standard. He knew this great staff could get better — and, under his editorship, we did," Hall said.

"On a personal level, the 10 years under John's tutelage has been the high point of my career."

As editor, Hughes championed the paper's special projects coverage, which included major series on drunken driving, child pornography, immigration and children in foster care.

Under Hughes' direction, the paper earned a host of regional and national journalism awards. Hughes himself was awarded the National Sunshine Award from the Society of Professional Journalists in August of this year. The award went to Hughes and Salt Lake Tribune Editor Nancy Conway for leading the Utah Media Coalition in strengthening — and defending — First Amendment rights in Utah.

"John is a champion of the First Amendment, man great integrity, a fine human being and a very fine editor. I think the news media community in the state will be diminished by his absence. It is, however, nice to think about him teaching new journalists at BYU," Conway said.

In an era of declining newspaper circulation, the Deseret Morning News' circulation, under Hughes' leadership, had steadily increased.

While clearly understanding the long-held tenet that "all news is local," Hughes remains a fierce advocate for foreign reporting. He has, for 20 years, written a weekly op-ed column in which he uses sources developed around the world and over many decades to give focus and context to those foreign dispatches.

Hughes' work also draws praise from competitors.

"John in my view is one of the elite outstanding editors of our time. He understands news as well as anybody on the planet. He is a solid newsman with the highest ethical standards. It has just been a pleasure for me to watch him across the street do an excellent job with the Deseret Morning News. He's just first class. I have enormous respect and admiration for the whole 30 years I've known him," said Dean Singleton, CEO of MediaNews Group and publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Hughes serves on the board of the International Center for Foreign Journalists, a group that promotes press freedom throughout the world, and is an active member and former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He has served numerous times as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize, journalism's most prestigious award.

Beginning in early January, Hughes will return to teaching — international communication and newspaper management — at BYU.