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Ten journalists named to KY Journalism Hall of Fame, three have local connections: Collins, Dias, Lansing


Ten journalists with careers that covered some of the biggest stories of the late 20th and early 21st centuries make up the 41st class of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.

They include two journalists with ties to The Kentucky Post, Monica Dias and Michael Collins, and one with ties to the E.W. Scripps Company, John Lansing, who worked with Scripps Networks and was based in Cincinnati.

This year’s induction ceremony will be held online May 4.

Michael Collins

This year’s 10 inductees are:

• Michael Collins, who covers economic issues and the White House for USA Today;

• the late Bill Cox, who served as an editor at The Honolulu Star-Bulletin and The Courier-Journal;

• Monica Dias, senior counsel for content and intellectual property at The E.W. Scripps Co. and former reporter for The Cincinnati Post/The Kentucky Post;

• John Lansing, president and CEO of National Public Radio and former managing editor at WAVE-3 and executive with the E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati;

Monica Dias

• Keith Lawrence, longtime reporter and columnist with the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer;

• the late Chuck Olmstead, who was a longtime reporter with WHAS-11;

• the late Bill Powell, who was a reporter for the Paducah Sun;

• Keith Runyon, former editorial page editor of The Courier-Journal and editorial writer of the Louisville Times;

• Pam Spaulding, former photographer of The Courier-Journal; and

• Melissa Swan, former reporter and anchor for WHAS-11.

John Lansing

Created by the University of Kentucky Journalism Alumni Association in 1981, the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame honors achieving journalists who are Kentucky natives or have spent a significant portion of their careers working for Kentucky media organizations. More than 200 individuals, both with and without formal ties to UK, have been inducted into the hall of fame.

The 2021 induction ceremony will be held May 4 at 5 p.m. ET online. For more information, contact UK School of Journalism and Media Project Manager John Cruz at john.cruz@uky.edu or 859-257-3904.


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