Howell Confirms He Is Selling Warwick Beacon to Former Raimondo Aide Fox

Howell Confirms He Is Selling Warwick Beacon to Former Raimondo Aide Fox

A former aide to former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo is poised to take over the Warwick Beacon. 

Multiple sources told GoLocal this week that Joy Fox, who served as press secretary for Raimondo, was close to finalizing a deal to take over the group of newspapers that include the Beacon, Cranston Herald, and Johnston Sunrise. 

On Thursday morning, long-time Warwick Beacon publisher and editor-in-chief John Howell confirmed the sale in a text to GoLocal. "Thanks for reaching out. I’m excited to be working with Joy, who believes in locally owned media, knows Rhode Island, and will put her energy into building community," said Howell.

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A formal announcement is imminent. The first edition of the Warwick Beacon, published under Howell’s ownership, was in 1969.

Fox also worked for former Congressman Jim Langevin.

In 2022, she ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for Congress in Rhode Island.

She got 6,122 votes in the Democratic primary, where now-U.S. Congressman Seth Magaziner had garnered 30,309 votes. She received 10% of the overall primary vote.

 

More on Transition 

A force in local media for decades, Howell was the founding Board Chair of the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership (now MENTOR Rhode Island). 

His critical coverage of local issues often ran Howell afoul of politicians — in 2019, then-Warwick Mayor Joe Solomon cut off Howell’s access to City Hall; more recently, Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena, Jr. pulled advertising in the Johnston Sunrise because of political differences. 

Fox did not to requests for comment.