John Paton

Journalism ’93

As a newspaper executive and journalist, John Paton has been at the forefront of numerous innovative ventures that have advanced the media industry and the companies he has led. Currently Chair of the Independent in the UK, he is the former Chair of Britain’s the Evening Standard and served as a director of The Guardian as well as Spain’s leading publication El Pais. He was the founder and CEO of Digital First Media — then the second-largest newspaper company in the US. In 2009 he was named Publisher of the Year in America. He is a founding board member of Canada’s Postmedia. He is the former Executive Vice-President of Sun Media Corp., city editor of the Toronto Sun, editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Sun and the former publisher of two Canadian dailies and CEO of Canadian Online Explorer. He also lends his time and expertise to corporate boards, industry groups and charitable causes.

This bio was updated in February 2025.