|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Jeb Bing, the founding editor and publisher of the Pleasanton Weekly whose perennial presence in the community earned him the moniker “Mr. Pleasanton”, died during the holiday season at 90 years old.
Jeb built this hometown newspaper from the ground up, establishing and sustaining our brand of local journalism week in and week out from our first edition until he retired in 2017. Supported by so many in that effort over nearly two decades, of course, but Jeb was the leader and our face in the community.
He leaves an extraordinary legacy in the Tri-Valley news industry – but more importantly, as a loving family man, a military veteran, a dedicated Rotarian and a proud Pleasanton resident.
“What always stood out to me about Jeb Bing was his deep sense of integrity and genuine care for the community he served,” former Pleasanton city manager Nelson Fialho told me on New Year’s Day.
“As a reporter and editor, Jeb had a rare ability to be both fair and accountable. He asked thoughtful questions, listened carefully, and reported with accuracy and respect,” Fialho said. “Even when covering difficult or controversial issues, it was clear he wasn’t chasing headlines. He was committed to helping the community understand what mattered and why. His journalism sought depth and understanding, not sound bites.”
“Jeb made Pleasanton better – through his journalism, his civic engagement, and the way he treated people,” he added.
Born John Edward Bing in Chicago in 1935, Jeb (which he went by since high school) found journalism at the University of Tennessee where he was editor of the college newspaper and penned a recurring column, “Bing Slings”. It followed him into his military service in Korea, where he was stationed after the war and assigned to read Korean language media and prepare briefs for his superiors.
After his tenure in the Army, Jeb graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago and then got his first job in the industry here in the Bay Area at the Burlingame Advance-Star.
He would later return to his midwest roots and become an editor for the Chicago Tribune in local news coverage – among his accomplishments there was hiring a young entertainment writer, Gene Siskel.
Jeb then left journalism, not straying too far. He built a career in public relations for Standard Oil, Westinghouse, the American Petroleum Institute and later a Sunnyvale-based subsidiary of Pilkington Corp. – noted for his speechwriting for CEOs and industry leaders, and excerpts of his speeches were even used by President Ronald Reagan.
Retired from PR in his 60s and enjoying an active life in Pleasanton, where he and wife Jan had settled with their family, little did Jeb know the news business would come calling again.
The powers that be in the Palo Alto Weekly offices were looking to expand Embarcadero Media into the East Bay, and Pleasanton eventually rose to the top of the list in 1999.
Bill Johnson, our organization’s founder and current board president, recalled that as he and Bob Thomas held early meetings around Pleasanton pre-launch, “Jeb’s name kept surfacing as a possible choice” to lead the new weekly newspaper.
“Hiring someone so well connected and respected like Jeb was key to our strategy and it was almost too good to be true that we had found each other,” Johnson told me.
“Jeb was the man-about-town and a perfect choice to be editor and publisher of the new paper,” he said. “Community story ideas of all kinds constantly flowed to Jeb and deepened the Weekly’s readership and importance.”
One of my favorite anecdotes from Jeb was the tale he told often about the vibe from some at city hall about the prospect of a Pleasanton Weekly.
“I met with then-mayor Ben Tarver to get his thoughts on our new paper. He congratulated me and wished me luck, but added Pleasanton is a small town and there’s no news here. How wrong he was,” Jeb said for our article on our 25th anniversary last year.
We dropped our first edition on Jan. 28, 2000 with “Read All About It!” on the cover, and the rest is history.
Deborah Grossman, our Tri-Valley Foodist who was a contributor to the Weekly from day one, considered Jeb “the heart and soul” of our organization.
She remembered an early exchange with him in January 2000 before the first issue published, as she prepared to write the cover story profiling the Pleasanton Farmers Market for the second edition.
“The last words of his email that day was, ‘Ready for another????'” Grossman told me.
“I was thrilled to have the opportunity to write six of the first eight cover stories under his tutelage. He was the ultimate editor, asking, ‘Did you mean to say it this way?'” she added. “He was a gentleman and such a kind person. We are fortunate to have him guide the publication for so long.”
Jeb set the tone, insisting on covering both city council and school board meetings in those initial days, Johnson recalled. “There wasn’t a community meeting he didn’t want to attend.”
He developed leads beyond local government too, enjoying coverage of community news, special events, business updates and profiles. He wrote news stories, cover stories, regular editorial comments and his award-winning “Around Pleasanton” column that ran every week.
Jeb and managing editor Dolores Fox Ciardelli, along with their first reporters and freelancers, did such critical work to establish our brand in Pleasanton at the beginning of the 21st century.
Soon shedding the publisher title and school district coverage, Jeb kept the city of Pleasanton beat in addition to his editor duties, sitting in on City Council and Planning Commission meetings all the way until retirement in his early 80s.
He was a strong proponent of our non-news features and activities, supporting our annual Holiday Fund, Take Us Along, Streetwise, holiday parade appearances, candidate forums and old Tri-Valley Heroes awards.
Jeb also represented the Weekly at meetings of the Rotary Club of Pleasanton, where he was a longtime member of an organization close to his heart.
Herb Ritter, the current governor of Rotary District 5170 and a former Pleasanton Planning Commission member, remembered first meeting Jeb in 2000 at Ritter’s Rotary Club of Pleasanton North.
“He reached out because he genuinely wanted to understand what Rotary does and how service organizations strengthen a community,” Ritter said. “That curiosity and sincerity stayed with him throughout his career.”
“Jeb was always an advocate for getting the story right,” he added. “I trusted him because he was honest, transparent, and committed to facts over opinion. Jeb believed deeply in this community and in responsible local journalism. His work helped shape the newspaper into a trusted voice for Pleasanton, and his humanitarian spirit and commitment to truth will be greatly missed.”
Fialho, a fellow member of the downtown club, said, “Jeb’s dedication as a Rotarian reflected those same values. He believed deeply in service, community connection, and giving back, not for recognition, but because it was the right thing to do. He embodied the Rotary spirit of service above self in a very authentic way.”
“On a personal level, Jeb was kind, approachable, and quietly principled,” Fialho continued. “Whether I was interacting with him as a department head or later as City Manager, I always appreciated his professionalism and his steady, respectful demeanor. He held public officials accountable (including me), but he did so with civility and a strong sense of ethics.”
Jeb handed me the reins of the Weekly in February 2017, changing the course of my career at 28 years old, but he remained involved with us throughout retirement. He penned his popular column biweekly and picked up the occasional cover story assignment for several years as our editor emeritus.
We almost lost him at Christmastime in 2019 after cascading medical emergencies – and story goes some of his last words before that initial life-or-death surgery were a nod to the Weekly, “tell Gina I won’t make the deadline!”
Jeb made an extraordinary recovery on the precipice of the global pandemic, and those social impacts actually helped Jeb stay more in touch with us than he would have if not for COVID.
Because videoconferencing became the new norm, Jeb was able to join many Weekly editorial planning meetings and Embarcadero Media organizational updates. He’d chime in often on company-wide emails, including congratulating our reporter Jeanita Lyman for winning Employee of the Month for October.
He stayed so attune to Pleasanton happenings. One of our running jokes at meetings in recent years – although he was seriously inquiring – was Jeb asking us for an update on Cook’s Seafood, which sat unoccupied despite a “coming soon” marquee since 2017. The restaurant finally opened last spring, to his delight.
Jeb died of natural causes on Dec. 22, some two months after his 90th birthday. He is survived by his beloved wife of 52 years, Janet; children Amy, Barbara, Kerry, Chris and Jenny; 14 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Condolences and fond memories flowed within our Embarcadero Media family during the holidays as we shared the sad news internally. Our president and publisher Gina Channell Wilcox has her own tribute column this week as well.
I learned so much from Jeb about how to be the editor of a local news organization and the journalistic face in the community. There would be no Pleasanton Weekly without Jeb Bing – simple as that. And I am so deeply grateful, professionally and personally.
A final important lesson from Jeb came as I spoke with his family in preparing for his obituary:
“His children remember him as the always present dad who would prioritize their well-being with encouragement, advice and especially love.” The only legacy that matters.
Family, friends and the greater community will memorialize Jeb at a service Jan. 24 at 10:30 a.m. at Graham-Hitch Mortuary, 4167 First St. He will be interred with full military honors in a private ceremony at a later date at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery outside Dixon.
RIP, Mr. Pleasanton.
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the associate publisher and editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What a Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
'See you in court, Joel!' Swalwell responds to allegation he lives out of stateJanuary 28, 2026 6:29 am
Castlewood homeowners discuss where things stand with county following lawsuitJanuary 27, 2026 5:58 am
Rest in Peace Jebb and give Dolores a hug, what a fantastic Team!
What a sweet tribute to a pillar of our community. My condolences to the family and others who were close to him.
R.I.P. To my friend Jeb. The memories of all the people you touched lives on! 💙💛👍🙏❤️