In 1956 he was named vice president and general manager of Knight-Ridder–owned WDSM-TV-AM-FM in Duluth, Minnesota, becoming the youngest CEO in broadcasting at the time.
It was then publicly revealed that Tom Collins, the Maricopa County District Attorney at the time, had been quietly investigating Tully's claim of military service.
In his role as publisher of the two daily newspapers in Phoenix, Tully was instrumental in helping United States Senator John McCain from Arizona, the Republican Party candidate in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, enter politics.
Active in civic, charitable and arts activities, Tully served as a trustee, director or officer of the Arizona Ballet, Wichita Music Theater, Phoenix Zoo, Heard Museum, University of Kansas William Allen White Foundation and Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and was a frequent lecturer at The American Press Institute.
An avid flier, he served two terms as chairman of the Indiana Aeronautics Commission and holds a commercial pilot's license with single engine sea, multi-engine land and instrument ratings.
Tully was a food and wine connoisseur and a Commandeur (20 years plus member) of La Chaine des Rottiseurs, as well as an officer of the Tampa-Sun Coast chapter.
United States President Ronald Reagan appointed him to serve on the Committee on Physical Fitness under Washington Redskins' Coach George Allen.