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DAY NEWSROOM: Copy Desk Chief

John Ruddy

Copy Desk Chief
j.ruddy@theday.com

Phone: (860) 701-4365

John Ruddy first got into journalism thanks to a college friend, whose enthusiasm for it rubbed off on this “misguided engineering major.” The rest, as they say, is history. In what he calls his “30 big years” of working at The Day, John has worn a few different hats. He started as a clerk, became a town reporter and then a police reporter, before settling in on the copy desk in 1992. Today, he edits stories and designs pages as copy desk chief, writing the occasional history feature for the front page. John has been teaching journalism classes, including news writing and editing, for 12 years at the University of Connecticut. He also has worked on four books about the rich history of this region. His most recent, “When Disaster Strikes: Shipwrecks, Storms and Other Calamities in Southeastern Connecticut,” which he co-wrote with M. Dirk Langeveld, was released in December 2017. His favorite period of research is the early 20th century, a heyday for New London. “Everything seemed very vital then,” he says. Despite his thorough knowledge, years of experience and all the journalism awards under his belt, John is humble. He does, however, have a few pet peeves (“when people say ‘between 4 to 6 p.m.’ – it’s ‘and!’”), as well as a whole list of words he hates (stakeholder and symbiotic top it). A lifelong Waterford resident, John enjoys riding his bike around the area – particularly to Ocean Beach Park. On a typical night in the newsroom, you can often hear this otherwise quiet editor randomly calling out trivia questions or debating the news value of a story. This self-described “big fan of commas” also is a big fan of baseball; he’s patiently waiting for the New York Yankees to win their 28th championship.