Before lobbying on behalf of newspapers as executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, Peter Fox was a respected newspaper editor.
As an undergraduate attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Fox served as a part-time copy editor for the Wisconsin State Journal, joining the paper full time during graduate school.
After eight years with the State Journal, during which he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from UW-Madison, Fox was named city editor of the Billings (Montana) Gazette in 1981. He became regional editor in 1983 and, in 1985, returned to Wisconsin to serve as editor of The (Racine) Journal Times, a position he held for nearly nine years.
After leaving the newspaper industry in 1994, Fox served as director of public information for the University of Wisconsin and, later was named workforce development coordinator and Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Employment by Gov. Tommy Thompson.
In 2004, he was named executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, a role he held until 2010. During his tenure, the association made significant strides in membership participation and services to the state’s daily and weekly newspapers. He acted as a leading advocate for open records and meetings and helped pass the state’s Whistleblower Protection Act. He also launched Wisconsin’s free public notice website and digital newspaper archive.
Over the years, he has been honored with Distinguished Service Awards from the UW-Madison School of Journalism and the WNA. He also served as advisor of Montana State University’s student newspaper, The Exponent, from 2011 to 2019.
Prior to working in newspapers, Fox served in the U.S. Army Security Agency from 1967 to 1970 as a Russian linguist, and was stationed in Japan and Taiwan. He later served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard in a variety of positions, retiring with 32 years of service and the rank of colonel.
