James E. “Jim” Burgess, who grew up in La Crosse, was a longtime publisher for Lee Enterprises, past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame. The son of Margaret (Forseth) and William T. Burgess, he attended Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from UW-Madison in 1958.
Jim married his wife, Catherine Qualey, on Dec. 20, 1958, in Geneva, Ill. Shortly after their wedding, Jim and Cathie moved to Germany, where he served three years in the U.S. Air Force. They were married 63 years and together they had four children and 11 grandchildren.
Following his time in the military, Jim started his newspaper career in the newsroom at the State Journal in Madison. He went on to serve as business and production manager at the Missoulian in Missoula, Mont., and publisher of the (Helena, Mont.) Independent Record. Jim returned home in 1972 to join the La Crosse Tribune as publisher — following in the footsteps of his father, William, and grandfather, Frank H. Burgess.
He was named executive vice president of Lee Enterprises and publisher of the State Journal from 1984 to 1993. During his final year with the Madison daily, Jim was named WNA president. A tireless advocate for the newspaper industry, Burgess also served as president of the former Inland Press Association (now America’s Newspapers) and as a director of The Associated Press.
In 2005, Jim made a $1 million gift to the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His gift helped establish the school’s Center for Journalism Ethics and endowed the James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics, a position currently held by Kathleen Bartzen Culver. Burgess’ contributions to the Wisconsin newspaper industry were recognized in 2008 through his induction into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Jim died Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, in Madison. He was 85.
