INFLUENCE
100 Rosemary O’HARA {MEDIA}
PHOTO: Mary Beth Tyson
As the head of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board, Rosemary O’Hara knows speaking truth to power is a big part of the job — and she does it well. She is a fighter. She is a trailblazer. And she is not afraid to mix it up when she believes it is needed — such as when she called for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to resign because he stopped showing up for work. She refused to endorse a Republican candidate for president in the 2016 Florida primary because she didn’t believe any of them were fit to serve. That was not the first time she did that, either. While editorial chief at the famously conservative Tampa Tribune, she withheld the newspaper’s endorsement rather than support the re-election of George W. Bush. Her corporate masters at Media General in Richmond were not amused. But she is willing to be vulnerable. She admitted she sobbed during an interview with Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie in the aftermath of the Parkland massacre. That is the essence of Rosemary O’Hara — tough, principled, fair and human. Put it all together, and it explains why she is a “must-read” for the powerful and the everyday person. – Joe Henderson, Columnist
116 | INFLUENCE SUMMER 2018