Journalism leader, owner of The Telegraph honored with historical marker in Macon
The song “Hail to the Chief” used to play up the elevator to the office of Peyton Anderson Jr., publisher and owner of the Macon Telegraph and Macon News, in the typewriter days of the mid-1900s.
Dr. R. Reid Hanson laughed about that memory of his late grandpa Anderson, after dedicating a permanent historical plaque to him Monday afternoon in downtown Macon.
“Journalistic integrity was his foremost (and) he had a great sense of humor,” Hanson said, before humming the presidential song.
Anderson was most known for his “journalistic integrity” and dedication to uplifting Macon, according to the new historical marker located in front of Lawrence Mayer Florist on the corner of Mulberry and Second streets.
As a kid, Hanson used to ride along with his grandpa to the paper’s circulation, printing press and offices near where Anderson’s plaque now sits.
“If news had to be reported, even if it was sensitive to people in the community, he would report it,” Hanson said. “He was a mentor to a lot of young beat reporters who went on to have very productive careers.”
He led the paper in the 1950s and 1960s, the historical marker explained. Before then, he served as a public relations officer in the U.S. Navy and sent soldiers’ stories to their hometown radio stations.
W. Todd Groce, president and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society, called Anderson “the Robert W. Woodruff of Macon, Georgia,” referencing the late philanthropist and president of Coca-Cola for the first half of the 1900s.
The plaque was organized by the Georgia Historical Society and Peyton Anderson Foundation, which funds local nonprofits with Anderson’s “good-doer” mentality, said Karen Lambert, the president and CEO of the foundation.
“He was a man who used his success to serve others, to strengthen the place that he loved... to help tell our stories and weave our history,” Lambert said at the dedication ceremony.
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.