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The Indiana Daily Student

Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame recognizes two Media School professors

From IDS reports

Two journalism faculty members of the Media School have been chosen as inductees into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame at its 50th anniversary celebration in October, according to an IU press release.bpm

Professor Emeritus Cleve Wilhoit and professor of practicebpm Tom French are among seven journalists selected as part of the 2015 class of inductees, the release said.bpm

Wilhoit spent 36 years as an IU journalism professor and researcher.bpm He joined the faculty in 1967 and became known as an inspirationalbpm teacher and mentor for scores of students who went on to journalism careers across Indiana and the country, according to the release.bpm

In 1963, Wilhoit earned his Masters in Communication with a minor in Political Science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Wilhoit continued his schooling at UNC for his Ph.D. in Mass Communications Research in 1967, his bio said on the Media School’s website.bpm His dissertation was “Experiments in Computerized Content Analysis and Information Retrieval in Communication Research.”

Wilhoit’s partner publication with David Weaver titled “The American Journalist in the 1990s: U.S. News People at the End of an Era” continues today as the only such large-scale, long-term survey in the United States, according to the release.bpm

French, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from IU in 1981.

He became nationally known for his narrative storytelling and won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing for “Angels & Demons,” a series chronicling the murder of an Ohio woman and her two teenage daughters, the release said. bpm

In 2009, French turned to full-time teaching and now holds the Riley Endowed Chair in Journalism at IU, according to the Media School website. bpm

The Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame 50th anniversary celebration is set to be held on Oct. 24 at the Indiana Memorial Union. bpm

The release said the other five journalists to be inducted include the late Gene Slaymaker, the late Lotys B. Stewart, a photographer for the Associated Press, an editorial cartoonist from the Indianapolis Star and the co-producer of The Herald in Japser, IN. . bpm

The celebration will begin with a reception for current and past inductees at 10:30 a.m. in Alumni Hall followed by the luncheon and induction ceremony also in Alumni Hall, according to the release.bpm bpm

The Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists established the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 1966 bpm to recognize and honor Hoosier journalists who have significantly contributed to the profession, the release said.bpm

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