Emory Robert Bentley Jr.

Robert Bentley, an innovative journalist whose newsroom career began with writing obituaries and concluded with this one, died April 26, 2012. Between these jobs, he was editor of six daily newspapers, a news executive on two others. The paper he led at Cape Canaveral as the nation�s youngest editor at age 29 was delivered to the moon to honor its prize-winning aerospace coverage. Bentley, 73, was a national pioneer in the logical, consistent positioning of the news. During Bentley�s 1995-2001 tenure at The Index-Journal, he initiated �Lakelands� as a geographical identity, presided over a redesign and was instrumental in creating the Saturday paper and conversion to morning delivery. From obituary writer for The State as a student at USC, Bentley rose to copy editor and then joined the Miami Herald for seven years in management. Innovations made during his first editorship at Florida Today were later used in creation of Gannett�s USA Today. Alan Shepard delivered a microfilm copy of the paper to the moon�s surface in 1971. In the next 10 years, Bentley edited two other Gannett papers in Fort Myers, FL, and El Paso, TX, which quickly became recognized for their journalistic quality. He was hired away by the Washington Post Co. to edit The Trenton, N.J., Times. Two years later he was lured back South as an assistant editor of the Atlanta Journal, then west as editor of The Bakersfield Californian. Bentley returned to S.C. in 1995, where he concluded his career leading Greenwood�s Index-Journal � which he had delivered as a McCormick youth. Bentley won a number of writing awards, but he took more pride in the many bestowed on his newsroom staffs. He was active in national and state press associations, president of those in Florida and California. Bentley had remained active with USC, where he guest-lectured and served as chairman of two alumni associations. He also was a board member and consultant to the Methodist Advocate. Bentley never relinquished his writing role, contributing contemplative columns and feisty letters to the editorial, news and sports pages of papers ranging from USA TODAY to his beloved weekly McCormick Messenger. He also had become more active in community service, helping establish and leading Greenwood�s Litter Prevention Task Force for four years. He helped form Palmetto Pride, the state�s anti-litter agency. Bentley is survived by his wife Susan, son Rob Bentley of Greenwood, daughter Reid Forrester, her husband, Dr. Michael Forrester, and grandson Liam, 4, of Atlanta. .

Emory Robert Bentley Jr.

December 20, 1969 - April 26, 2012

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