Andrew’s distinguished career spanned journalism, broadcasting and higher education. He worked at the Chicago Tribune, Channel 7 in Chicago and CNBC in New York before turning his focus to educating the next generation of business journalists. He helped establish business journalism programs at Boston University and UC Berkeley. Leckey served as the founding president of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. During his tenure, he also launched the Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism.
Throughout his career, Andrew trained thousands of journalists and students in the United States and abroad, earning widespread respect from colleagues and those he mentored. Leckey received three Fulbright awards: China, Uganda, and Taiwan.Β
In 2023, SABEW honored Andrew with the President’s Award in recognition of his tireless efforts to advance the organization’s international initiatives, recruit new members and provide training for professional journalists and university students at SABEW events.
“It was my honor getting to know Andrew over the last decade,” said SABEW President Robert Barba, politics editor at WNYC/Gothamist. “He always brought tremendous energy to the room. I loved hearing about his travels, and he introduced so many student journalists to our organization. I was one of those journalists. Early in my career, at a small town paper in Florida, my editor sent a group of us to Orlando for a Reynolds training. It was my first glimpse into the wonderful world of SEC filings. Who knows how much stuck from that training, but it made me unafraid to do the digging. That orientation became the foundation of my career as a financial journalist.β
“Andrew made innumerable contributions to SABEW and business journalism,” said Jim Nelson, past SABEW president and business editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He regularly brought groups of ASU students to SABEW conferences and made certain they built connections and learned as much as possible. I am personally grateful for the many opportunities and encouragement Andrew provided to me. I learned a lot from him and was able to create a business journalism class thanks to a program he created.”
βAndrew was a visionary who devoted his life to helping others succeed in business journalism and supporting the industry during dynamic and fast-changing times,β said Glenn Hall, past SABEW president and executive vice president, information services at Arizent. βHe was a SABEW stalwart and a great friend to everyone he knew. We will all feel his absence from our lives.β
Andrew’s legacy will live on through the countless journalists he mentored, the students he inspired and the lasting impact he made on SABEW and the business journalism community.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and former students.
Read Andrew’s full obituary here.
