[365] Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame at MTSU to induct inaugural class April 26

For release:  March 22, 2013

Journalism Hall of Fame contacts: Hooper Penuel, 615-347-1672, or Dan Whittle, 615-785-6403

  

MURFREESBORO — Six outstanding journalists make up the inaugural induction class into the new Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame at Middle Tennessee State University.

The induction ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. April 26 at MTSU’s Murphy Center Arena.

Heading the group of statewide inductees is John Seigenthaler, chairman emeritus of The Tennessean in Nashville, founding editorial director of USA Today and founder of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

Other inductees include:

• (Posthumously) Dan Miller was the longtime chief news anchor at Nashville’s WSMV-TV Channel 4, where he was named the “Most Popular News Anchor in America” once, and multiple times was voted Nashville’s “best news anchor.” A winner of multiple Emmy Awards, Miller died in 2009.

• William Bryant (Bill) Williams Jr., a third generation community newspaper publisher, is publisher emeritus of the Paris (Tenn.) Post-Intelligencer, a newspaper that has served the Henry County community since 1866.

• Anne Holt is a 30-year veteran and three-time Emmy Award winner at WKRN-TV News 2 in Nashville. Among her numerous accolades, she is also a recipient of the coveted George Foster Peabody Award for investigative reporting and the Distinguished Service Award from the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters.

• Chris Clark, retired chief news anchor for WTVF-TV NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, produced multiple global documentaries in foreign nations, including Russia and Israel, and played a strategic role in convincing the Tennessee Supreme Court to allow cameras in courtrooms. Clark is currently an instructor in MTSU College of Mass Communication.

• Dean Stone is editor of The Daily Times in Maryville, where he still serves as a featured columnist. He served multiple terms as president of the Tennessee Associated Press Managing Editors, now known as the Tennessee Associated Press Media Editors.

Officially unveiled in October 2012 after four years of planning, the new Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame will be housed at MTSU and covers all categories of professional news media including television, newspaper, radio, public relations and electronic media.

“Our inductee committee has performed yeoman’s work in selecting outstanding journalists from throughout West, Middle and East Tennessee,” said Hooper Penuel, a retired lieutenant colonel and public information officer for the Tennessee National Guard and a founding member on the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors.

The inaugural induction ceremony is scheduled for April 26 at the MTSU College of Mass Communication’s annual awards event honoring outstanding journalism students and educators.

The hall will be housed at the John Bragg Mass Communication Building in the Center for Innovation in Media.

MTSU Mass Communication Dean Dr. Roy Moore welcomed the independent nonprofit to campus and praised the “tireless efforts” of the three men recognized as “founders” of the new hall.

“Having the Hall of Fame here helps encourage our students to go out and achieve their own remarkable careers as Tennessee media professionals,” Moore said.

MTSU journalism professor Larry Burriss, newspaper columnist Dan Whittle and Penuel “have worked tirelessly” in forming the new hall, Moore added, having served respectively as president, vice president and secretary/treasurer of the Hall of Fame’s founding board of directors.

About MTSU

Founded in 1911 as one of three state normal schools for teacher training, MTSU is now the oldest and largest public university in Middle Tennessee. With an enrollment of more than 25,000 students, MTSU is the largest undergraduate university in Tennessee.

MTSU remains committed to providing individualized service in an exciting and nurturing atmosphere where student success is the top priority. With a wide variety of nationally recognized academic degree programs at the baccalaureate, master's and doctoral levels, MTSU takes pride in educating the best and the brightest students from Tennessee and around the world.

###

Media welcomed

A printable campus map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTParkingMap12-13.

            MTSU is committed to developing a community devoted to learning, growth, and service. We hold these values dear, and there’s a simple phrase that conveys them:  “I am True Blue.” Learn more at www.mtsu.edu/trueblue. For MTSU news anytime, visit www.MTSUNews.com.