Thomas Martin

Meet Professor Martin

Years at Knox: 2026 to present

Email Professor Martin: tamartin@knox.edu

Tom Martin brings to the classroom a distinguished 35-year career as a top editor at five Illinois newspapers, including 18 years as editor of The Register-Mail and most recently as executive editor of the Quad-City Times and Dispatch-Argus. He was also the advisor of The Knox Student, Knox’s award winning, student-run newspaper, from 2009-2021. 

A 2025 Illinois Editor of the Year and an Editor & Publisher “Editor Extraordinaire,” he is renowned for nurturing journalistic talent and championing in-depth community storytelling. At Knox, he shares this wealth of practical experience, teaching journalism courses while also serving as a founding board member and managing editor for the nonprofit Galesburg Community News, a role that allows him to model the future of local journalism for his students.

Education

B.S. Mass Communications, 1983, University of Iowa
M.S. Digital Audience Strategies, 2024, Arizona State University