In Memoriam: John Prescott

John S. Prescott, 80, who was president of The Washington Post during the 1970s when management and labor fought over automation of production tasks and job security, died of cancer March 17 at his home in New York.

Mr. Prescott, an experienced newspaper business executive, was hired for what is now known as the position of general manager in 1972. Katharine Graham, the late publisher who hired Mr. Prescott, said in her 1997 book, “Personal History,” that he deserved “great credit” for the contract settlement with the printers in 1974 after several years of labor unrest.