Veteran Bucks County reporter James McGinnis has died. He was 45.
James McGinnis made a living telling stories about people, spending over 20 years sharing his talents with Bucks County readers. He died June 18 after a brief illness. He was 45.
From 2001 until late last year, he worked as a journalist for the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer, where he covered a variety of subjects first as a municipal beat reporter and eventually as an investigative and enterprise reporter.
For McGinnis writing was a vocation. Journalism was his passion.
McGinnis was part of the team covering major events including Pope Francis’ 2015 Philadelphia visit , the 2016 Democratic Convention, the post-2020 election Rudy Giuliani press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping and a rare 2021 EF3 tornado in Lower Bucks County.
“I’m an introvert, empath, and — quite possibly — a masochist. Why else would someone who likes solitude and silence become an investigative journalist? Every day, I connect with people – many of them struggling. Occasionally, I get to write something that could make a difference," he wrote in a year-end round up highlighting his best work of 2021.
His ability to find stories about the quirky and unique gave readers the chance to learn about bat populations, haunted dolls, a crawfish invasion in Levittown, and the influence of the 2020 COVID pandemic on art.
He enjoyed once-in-a-lifetime opportunity assignments like the one that took him on ride over Philadelphia in a replica World-War II B-17 bomber.
He also chronicled tough topics like the struggles of the homeless and military veterans, social and political unrest and the stories of the forgotten dead in the coroner offices. He also led efforts in data reporting, creating an interactive salary database showing local public employee salaries.
He won honors for his journalism in Pennsylvania and New Jersey including the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Truth in Finances Award, Best of Gannett Local Reporting and three Spotlight awards from the SPJ Keystone Pro-state chapter.
Outside of work, McGinnis enjoyed reading, hiking, swimming, trips to the Jersey shore and he was learning to scuba dive. Most of all he loved to travel.
In addition to visiting many U.S. states (including a spontaneous road trip to New Orleans) his overseas adventures included multiple trips to Italy and Mexico, as well as Egypt, Greece, France, Guatemala and Belize.
For the last 17 years he was an adjunct journalism professor at his alma mater, Temple University, where he graduated in 1999; he also taught scientific writing for two years at Drexel University.
McGinnis also gave back to the community, where he volunteered in soup kitchens on Thanksgiving, prepared meals for Manna and assisted in the Philadelphia Medical Reserve Corp.
Among his other great assets was his sense of humor, best described as a combination of sarcasm, silly creative and frequently inappropriate.
He is survived by his parents, Marion (Toner) McGinnis, and his father James D. McGinnis, of Philadelphia, both retired Philadelphia Police officers, brother, Michael McGinnis (Olivia Steffa), nephew Dylan McGinnis, and nieces Eva and Ella McGinnis, of Burlington County, New Jersey, cousin Christine Schuler and his beloved dog, Franco.
Family and friends are invited to attend his life celebration on Thursday June 27, 2024 from 10 a.m. to noon at the John F. Givnish Funeral Home, 10975 Academy Road, Philadelphia, Pa. Interment will be private.
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: James McGinnis, 45, wrote about Bucks County for 20 years: obit
