Kaitlyn Hughes & Eliyahu Gasson & Josh Imhof | news editor & editor-in-chief & features editor

Known for her promotion of student journalism, her witty comments, defense of free speech and willingness to listen to others, Maggie Jones Patterson paved the way for student journalists and shaped the profession within the Pittsburgh community.

Patterson spent 42 years at Duquesne before retiring in May. She taught both journalism and gender studies courses, chaired the Duquesne University Student Publications Board and helped to form the Duquesne Media Department.

But her journalism career began while she was working at the Pittsburgh Press. There, she helped pave the way for women in the field, which she continued to do throughout her time as a professor.

“I think we [women] tend to shrink back when we need to be a little more assertive,” Patterson told The Duke in May. “I think the young women I teach today do have – on the whole – more confidence than I did, and so I would say, have faith in yourself. That’s what my advice would be.”

Patterson, who grew up in Swissvale and lived in Squirrel Hill, died on Monday from cardiac arrest at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.

She was 80.

‘A Pittsburgh girl’

Patterson was born in Swissvale to Ruth Wilson Jones and Robert Jones. She has three brothers: Ken, Dave and Bob Jones.

“She was a Pittsburgh girl,” said Rob Ruck, her husband.

He said that Patterson always felt a part of the community, and she liked that Pittsburghers were “unpretentious and friendly.”

Romayne Smith Fullerton, Patterson’s friend and colleague, said that wherever Patterson went, Pittsburgh remained a part of her.

The two stopped in Madrid, Spain, while working on their book. During their stay, Patterson was determined to watch the Steelers game and searched for local bars, trying to find one that would be willing to play it.

When she found one, she immediately put on her black and gold jersey.

“She went right to the front and sat in front of the screen and yelled and cheered,” Smith Fullerton said.

Patterson graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and later earned a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Pittsburgh, where she also worked at the University Times, a newspaper geared toward faculty and staff at Pitt.

Her younger brother, Bob Jones, who had a career with Morgan Stanley, said they were the only two siblings not to go into engineering. They would constantly talk about journalism.

“We never agreed. I was convinced I knew more, but she was an encyclopedia. She would always be able to quote stuff back at me that proved I was wrong,” he said.

While working at the Pittsburgh Press, Patterson met her husband, Rob Ruck, after he was arrested during a police riot at a vigil against the Vietnam War.

The pair started seeing each other in 1974 after a trip to Mexico with some friends, and they got married in their home in 1979.

They had one child, Alex Ruck.

‘Writing in different capacities’

After graduating, Patterson got an offer to work at the Pittsburgh Press on the city desk, but when she reported for work the managing editor told her it was a mistake. They thought it was too dangerous for women to work at night.

To Patterson, this would not do, her son said.

She found ways to cover topics she enjoyed. Patterson joined Betty Friedan, the former national president of the National Organization for Women and author of “The Feminine Mystique,” after an interview for the Press at the Hilton Hotel as they stormed a previously all-male lounge.

This earned Patterson her first front-page by line.

She was with the Pittsburgh Press for five years before she decided to freelance. Eventually, she took an editor position at the University Times.

While she was there, the administration tried to take the paper’s independence away because they did not like their coverage of the movement to start a union at the university.

But the paper fought back and remained independent.

Patterson’s son said that she was passionate about making sure that journalism was inclusive, accessible and presented in an unbiased and fair way.

“She was beautiful and smart and committed to doing what she did, and she saw journalism as a way to make the world better,” her husband said.

An award-winning scholar, Patterson co-authored four books: “Behind the Lines,” “Birth or Abortion: Private Struggles in a Political World,” “Rooney: A Sporting Life” and “Murder in Our Midst: Comparing Crime Coverage Ethics in an Age of Globalized News.”

Patterson became interested in crime cases after learning about the “Kill for Thrill” murders that took place in Western Pennsylvania in 1979 and 1980. She became curious about how the killers’ upbringing affected their lives, as well as the media’s role in covering criminal cases.

She and Smith Fullerton continued this investigation by evaluating publications in North America and Western Europe, which culminated in the release of their book “Murder in Our Midst: Comparing Crime Coverage Ethics in an Age of Globalized News” in 2021.

Patterson and Smith Fullerton continued their work despite receiving criticism and sometimes being called “anti-victim.”

“She would say, ‘It’s not a zero-sum game. You can have absolute compassion and deeply feel for victims and victims’ families and also understand that there is another person, or other people involved in this tragedy,’” Smith Fullerton said.

They both tried to answer the questions posed by their research.

“She had a brain that was capable of holding a lot of complexity and exploring and questioning and thinking and deliberating and then putting more questions forward,” Smith Fullerton said.

Patterson was also a board member of Public Source, and she chaired the Pittsburgh Society of Professional Journalists chapter and the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Duquesne.

In May, she received the Service to Journalism Award from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania.

“Whether it was journalism or writing in different capacities, that was just a through line in her life,” Rob Ruck said.

A mentor to all

Patterson’s journalism career continued in the classroom.

In 1982, she was recruited to teach at Duquesne. Prior to this, she spent some time teaching at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

She became the chair of the Duquesne University Student Publications Board, where she continuously defended the rights of student publications on campus.

Raymond Arke, a Duquesne alumnus and former editor of The Duke, remembered Patterson always standing up for the decisions the newspaper made.

While Arke was covering a Student Government Association meeting, they presented their budget on a slideshow. Arke took this as an opportunity to write a story about the budget, but he immediately received push back from the SGA.

They wrote a letter to the publication board asking for them to issue prior restraint.

But the publication board sided with The Duke.

“We were able to do that because [Patterson] was firmly committed to backing us,” Arke said. “That’s something that is rare.”

Bobby Kerlik, former advisor for The Duke and current member of the publication board, recalled one instance where an author threatened to sue both the university and The Duke for a negative review a student wrote about his book if they did not take it down.

Patterson stood up for the student and said that the article would not be taken down, and the author never filed any lawsuits.

“She was always a fierce defender of student journalism and free press overall,” Kerlik said.

Kerlik said Patterson also made sure to educate students on the responsibilities that came with a free press and the duties they had to uphold.

“Maggie was always good at saying… [don’t] just be a flamethrower to be a flamethrower, but do it in a relevant way that makes sense,” he said.

Luis Fabregas, executive editor at the Tribune Review and former student of Patterson’s, said he would not be where he was today without her influence.

“I remember her lectures were riveting, almost like a performance,” Fabregas said.

Patterson would sit on a stool in front of the class and pepper her lectures with anecdotes, stories and lessons from her time as a reporter, giving Fabregas and his fellow students a glimpse into the real world of a newsroom.

“It felt like she had collected a lifetime of experience,” he said.

As he moved into his professional career, Fabregas said he never stopped looking up to Patterson.

“I always saw Maggie as my beloved professor and beloved mentor,” he said.

Patterson was not only a mentor to students, but also to faculty members.

Duquesne Associate Professor of multiplatform journalism Pamela Walck first met Patterson on an airplane ride back from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference.

At the time, Walck was trying to apply for a job at Duquesne, so she had her first interview on the plane with Patterson. Eventually, she got hired.

“She was one in the department who was willing to step in and really mentor,” Walck said.

She said that Patterson helped to forge an attitude in the department that the faculty would not let differing personalities get in the way of the work that was being done.

Walck also said that Patterson made it a point to lift up the other women in the department.

“That spirit separates the department from others in the university,” Walck said.

Patterson had an influence in every part of the journalism department. Most recently, she headed The Duke’s centennial celebration in October after Arke brought the paper’s 100th anniversary to her attention.

“That was very illustrative of how genuinely interested in people and willing to get involved [she was],” Arke said.

Witty and kind

In the classroom and at home, Patterson was known for her “Irish humor.”

“She could pop balloons of ego, but do it in a way that didn’t hurt,” Rob Ruck said.

Walck said that even in stressful times, Patterson would always find a way to crack a joke.

“She understood that there was so much more to life than this moment,” she said.

Beyond her wit, her compassion for others shined through.

Although Smith Fullerton lives in Ontario, Canada, distance never kept her and Patterson apart.

On one occasion, Smith Fullerton was struggling with a personal issue, and Patterson dropped everything to meet her.

“She just said to me ‘Get in your car and meet me in Niagara on the Lake… We’re gonna just solve this together,’” Smith Fullerton said.

Rob Ruck said that Patterson always made sure people were treated right.

“She could sense when someone was down or needed help, and she didn’t hold back,” he said.

A rich life

Whether she was at a yoga class, on a week-long bike trip in Europe or on a run — she was one of the first 100 women to participate in the Richard S. Caliguiri Great Race — Patterson kept busy.

She also loved to travel, specifically to Ireland because it reminded her of her family heritage and Pittsburgh.

In September, she traveled to Dublin with her son to watch the Steelers play.

“She was happy as I ever seen her,” Alex Ruck said. “It was a great experience to have together that I’ll cherish forever”

This was a special trip for Patterson because her family was everything to her.

As he was growing up, Alex Ruck remembered his mother always spending time with him whether it be playing cards, reading together or making dinner side-by-side on Thanksgiving day.

About a year and half ago, Patterson’s granddaughter, Sophia, was born. Her son said Patterson was “over the moon, ecstatic” about her.

Patterson would constantly read to her, play with her and try to teach her different words.

“[She] completely gave herself to her as if there was nothing else going on in the world,” he said.

Between the centennial celebration, visiting Dublin, the award from the press club and the birth of her granddaughter, Patterson had many recent successes.

“She ended her life on a very high note,” Rob Ruck said.

Patterson is survived by her brothers, husband, granddaughter and son as well as her daughter-in-law, Alison Perrotti.

A blessing service will be held on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. at John A. Freyvogel Sons, Inc., 4900 Centre Avenue at Devonshire Street. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Patterson’s memory can be made to Public Source: 1936 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219.

A campus mass is pending.

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu

Eliyahu Gasson can be reached at gassone@duq.edu

Josh Imhof can be reached at imhofj@duq.edu