Former Ledger-Enquirer Executive Editor Ben Holden Dies at 63

Ben Holden, a veteran journalist, attorney and civic leader who served as executive editor of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer for six years and later founded a scholarship program for local students, died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack. He was 63.

A respected figure in journalism and legal education, Holden led the Ledger-Enquirer newsroom from 2004 to 2010, overseeing the newspaper during a period of significant change in the media industry. Prior to his tenure in Columbus, Holden worked as a Los Angeles-based reporter for The Wall Street Journal, where he covered urban affairs and the deregulation and consolidation of electric utilities.

His reporting included analyses of several of the nation’s most significant and widely followed legal cases, including the aftermath of the Rodney King beating trial, the O.J. Simpson double murder case and the murder trial of rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg.

In addition to his journalism career, Holden was an accomplished attorney. He practiced law with California firms during the late 1980s and early 1990s and maintained law licenses in both California and Georgia.

Holden also dedicated much of his professional life to improving public understanding of the judicial system. He served as director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Courts & Media, an affiliate of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. In that role, he helped educate journalists and judges on issues involving courts, media coverage and public access to the justice system. He remained a visiting faculty member with the National Judicial College throughout his career.

Beyond journalism and law, Holden made a lasting impact on the Columbus community through education and mentorship.

In 2009, he founded Columbus Scholars Inc., a nonprofit organization designed to help promising local students pursue higher education. The program selected seven fifth-grade students from Columbus-area elementary schools and paired each participant with a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Chattahoochee Valley.

Funds raised through the initiative were placed in a dedicated Columbus Scholars Fund at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, providing supplemental financial assistance for the students’ future college education.

The program reflected Holden’s belief in the power of education, mentorship and long-term investment in young people.

Colleagues and community leaders remembered Holden as an intellectually curious journalist, a passionate advocate for civic engagement and a mentor who sought to open doors of opportunity for others.

Funeral arrangements had not been announced as of Wednesday evening.