Former Deseret News publisher Wm. James Mortimer is inducted into Utah Printers Hall of Fame

SALT LAKE CITY — The Beehive State's printing industry honored its "best of the best" Thursday, inducting six men and one woman into the Utah Printers Hall of Fame.

The hall's class of 2010 comprises three living printers — Wm. James Mortimer, James W. Cornwell and Blaine T. Hudson — and four who are deceased — Lorin Wheelwright, Ezra Warner, Jackie Nicholes and Joseph E. Johnson. Each was recognized as a "great leader in the printing industry" during an induction ceremony and dinner at Salt Lake City's Little America Hotel.

Louis Crandall, whose Crandall Historical Printing Museum teams with the Printing Industries of Utah in sponsoring the hall of fame, noted that printing has helped mold civilization for centuries. "The same is true for the early history of Utah, and printing continues to play a vital role in today's society," said Crandall.

 Wm. James (Jim) Mortimer's nickname "Deseret Jim" is well earned. Much of his printing career has been spent working with one "Deseret" company or another. His connection to the printing industry began in Cache County as a 12-year-old boy, working as a paperboy for the Deseret News. Mortimer earned a master's degree at Columbia University in 1957 before working as a reporter and assistant business editor at the Deseret News.

He became sales manager for Deseret News Press and later served for 13 years as Deseret Book's vice president and general manager. In 1979, Mortimer returned to Deseret News Press, overseeing its transition from a commercial printing firm to an internal printing organization within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also served as secretary for the Scriptures Publication Committee of the church during a pivotal period of LDS scripture publication.

Mortimer was appointed publisher of the Deseret News in 1985. He retired 15 years later. "Old printers never die," he quipped. "They just miss their deadline."

 Printer James M. (Jim) Cornwell was a junior in high school when he began his journalism career — earning $5 a week at a Colorado weekly. Despite the meager wages, he was smitten. "Once you're afflicted with journalism, a highly contagious disease, it never leaves you," he said.

In 1949, Cornwell and his wife, Betty, bought their first newspaper in Stanton, Neb. Six years later, the Cornwells moved to Utah and bought the "Murray Eagle" newspaper. They would later add the "Green Sheet" papers that were circulated in several local communities. While holding the title of publisher, Cornwell also knew his way around the print shop and frequently helped assemble pages of the paper. The "Green Sheet" was among the earliest Utah newspapers to convert to computerized typesetting and offset printing.