Ten years ago, John Hughes became editor and chief operating officer of the Deseret News.

At the end of this month, he will step down as editor and COO of the Deseret Morning News.

The "Morning" in the paper's name is, perhaps, the hallmark of Hughes' many accomplishments during his decade of leading the paper.

Hughes came to the paper in January of 1997 after a storied career as, among other things, a Pulitzer-Prize winning foreign correspondent in Africa and Asia, editor of the Christian Science Monitor, associate director of the U.S. Information Agency, director of the Voice of America, assistant secretary of state of public affairs during the Reagan administration and assistant secretary-general of the United Nations.

His charge, when taking over as Deseret News editor, was to improve what he called an already fine paper and take it to morning publication.

The Deseret News officially became the Deseret Morning News on June 9, 2003.

L. Glen Snarr was chairman of the Deseret News Board of Directors that hired Hughes in 1997 as a consultant to the paper. Hughes, who was at the time a journalism professor at Brigham Young University, made his recommendations and was subsequently offered the editorship.

"John was a key figure in our successful move to morning publication," Snarr said. "He's a fine editor and I'm glad we got him. He works well with people and has been an excellent public face for the newspaper."

Ellis R. Ivory, current chairman of the Morning New board, was also on the paper's board of directors when Hughes was hired.

"John Hughes is a legend in the newspaper industry. We've been very fortunate to have him serve as editor for the past 10 years. He has brought luster and style to the Deseret Morning News. It was his strong recommendation that we switch to morning publication. Then he helped steer us through that successful change. We are a better newspaper today because John Hughes gave us this decade of outstanding service," Ivory said.

Publisher Jim Wall joined the paper in July of 2000.

"I will miss John as will the editors, reporters and other members of our staff. One of John's heroes is Sir Winston Churchill, who he has quoted to me on several occasions. His hero was the right man, in the right place, at the right time. I would paraphrase the same for John. He has been the man who has had the right journalism skills, the right style of leadership and the right credentials as the Deseret Morning News has been one of the few newspapers in the country to show consistent circulation growth," Wall said.

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