RIVERSIDE – Veteran Inland Empire journalist and former managing editor of the Riverside Press-Enterprise Mel Opotowsky has died, according to the newspaper.

His journalism career began in 1953 as publisher of the Sea Coast Echo, a small weekly newspaper in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He moved to UPI, and in 1963, he began a 10-year stint at Newsday. He came to Southern California in 1973 to join the Riverside Press Enterprise, where he worked for more than 25 years, retiring as managing editor in 1999.

Opotowsky was instrumental in establishing the California First Amendment Coalition, for which he continued to serve as a board member. He was a professor in the Communications department at California State University Fullerton.

He resided at Claremont Manor with his wife, Bonnie. They have four children.

Mel Opotowsky was 92.

Story Date: April 26, 2024