Michael I. Days, a groundbreaking Philadelphia journalist who led the Philadelphia Daily News to a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2010; a champion of diversity, equity and inclusion, and a parish leader in Sacre
Michael I. Daysd Heart Parish, Trenton, died suddenly Oct. 18 in Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton. He was 72.
Funeral services will be held Oct. 25 in Sacred Heart Church, 343 South Broad Street, Trenton. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon at which time a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Msgr. Dennis Apoldite, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and episcopal vicar of Mercer County, will be principal celebrant and homilist.
Mr. Days was a longtime, active Catholic in the Trenton parishes of Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd, Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd, and presently, Sacred Heart. He was a member of the Knights of St. John International, where he was a Brigadier general and editor of its international journal, the Gospel choir, parish council, usher, lector and involved in numerous project-based committees and boards on the parish level and in his community.
Born in August 1953, Mr. Days grew up in North Philadelphia but lived in Trenton for nearly 40 years. He graduated from Roman Catholic High School, Philadelphia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the College of Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass.; a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and he was a McCormick Fellow and a graduate of the Media Management Center’s Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University.
Mr. Days started his professional career as an intern at The Minneapolis Star Tribune. His early work experience included serving as a reporter for The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky., and the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y., before he returned to Philadelphia to work for The Wall Street Journal. He joined the city’s Daily News publication as a reporter in 1986 and was first named the publication’s editor in 2005. He was the first black person to lead the paper in its 90-year history.
He went on to serve as managing editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer before returning to the Daily News as editor in 2012.
Mr. Days earned numerous awards for his work in journalism and in the community. Accolades include receiving the Hall of Fame honors from the National Association of Black Journalists and the Pennsylvania News Media Association. He was a past president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and, at the time of his death, was president of the NABJ-Philadelphia. He had been honored twice by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, receiving the President’s Award and the Trailblazer Award. He also received the Lillian Award for outstanding service to journalism from the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. From 2017-2020, he directed the Acel Moore High School Journalism Workshop at The Inquirer. He retired as vice president of diversity and inclusion of the Philadelphia Media Network in 2020.
Mr. Days’ journalistic skills were reflected when he co-authored with his wife, Angela Dodson, “We’ve Been Here Before: How Rebellion and Activism Have Always Sustained America.” He and Angela recently partnered in Editors On Call, LLC.
Mr. Days was predeceased by his mother, Helen B. Days, and his son, Adrian Days.
In addition to his wife of 43 years, Angela Dodson, he is survived by three sons, Edward and his wife, Tracy, Andrew and Umi Days; four grandchildren, a sister, and many other family members and friends.
Memorial donations may be made to the College of the Holy Cross by clicking here; St. Rose of Lima School, Philadelphia, by clicking here, and his wife’s family fund, the Dodson, Dotson and Hairston scholarship through the Marshall University Foundation by clicking here.