McMahan, former 'Knoxville Journal' owner, editor, dies at 70

Ron McMahan, who had also been press secretary to U.S. Sen. Howard Baker, died of cancer in Florida, where he had lived recently.

Writes Phil Jones, formerly of CBS News, in the News-Sentinel:

Ron McMahan was one who believed that public officials and even those in
the private world should be held accountable and his accomplishments to that end
have earned him a vaulted place in the history of American newspaper journalism.
Sure, he spent several years working in Washington, but that was never home for
him and he never was "one of them." In his heart, Ron McMahan was always "one of
us" - a journalist - a proud reporter.

Writes a poster on KnoxViews:

Ron was a big, gruff guy who could sometimes be absolutely infuriating, but
working for him was a privilege for which I will always be grateful. It was so
much fun I couldn't believe I was getting paid.