Thomas V. H. Vail was the publisher and editor of the Plain Dealer. He is the great-grandson of Liberty Holden, who had purchased the daily newspaper in 1885. Vail served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1944–46, graduating from Princeton in 1948. He worked as a reporter for the former Cleveland News (which was also owned by his family’s publishing company) and served as its political editor for four years. Then he transferred to the PD, where he worked in the advertising, production, circulation and labor relations departments; in 1963, he became the paper’s publisher and editor. The PD was sold to the Newhouse chain of newspapers in 1967, with Vail continuing in his dual role until 1990. He retired as chairman in 1991.

In 1978, Vail launched the New Cleveland Campaign to promote the area’s many cultural, entertainment and industrial assets. He co-founded Cleveland Tomorrow (now the Greater Cleveland Partnership), a group of business leaders who work to improve the city’s building and industrial base by bringing business and government together. He has served as a trustee of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland Council on World Affairs and the Committee for Economic Development.