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Ten outstanding journalists to be inducted into Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame on March 31


A Pulitzer Prize winner, three television journalists, a Kentucky state government reporter, a Washington Post columnist, a longtime community journalist, a Washington, D.C.-based  journalist, a journalism educator, and one of Kentucky’s longest-tenured sports reporters make up the 40th class of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.

This year’s induction ceremony will be held March 31 at the University of Kentucky.

This year’s 10 inductees are:

• Barbara Bailey, longtime anchor and reporter who has served four decades at WKYT-27 in Lexington;
• Steve Crump, a reporter with WBTV-3 in Charlotte, North Carolina, who is also a documentary film producer;
• Maxine Cheshire, a Harlan, Kentucky, native who had a distinguished career as the author of the “VIP” column in The Washington Post;
• Ronnie Ellis, a veteran newspaper reporter who most recently served as Frankfort, Kentucky, correspondent for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.;
• Michael Hedges, deputy editor of the AARP Bulletin and former Washington, D.C., newspaper editor and investigative reporter and international reporter; 
• Maria Henson, associate vice president at Wake Forest University and a former newspaper editor and editorial writer whose work at the Lexington Herald-Leader and Sacramento Bee resulted in Pulitzer Prizes;
• Rachel Platt, director of community engagement for the Frazier History Museum and a former reporter and news anchor with WHAS-11 in Louisville, Kentucky; 
• Mike Scogin, longtime president and publisher of the Georgetown (Kentucky) News-Graphic;
• Russell Shain, a Lexington native and retired journalism educator whose career included serving as dean of the Arkansas State University College of Communications; and
• Jerry Tipton, who has been a sports writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader since 1981, including almost 40 years covering University of Kentucky men’s basketball.

In addition to the ten 2020 inductees, Bruce Johnson, who was not able to attend his 2019 induction, will be recognized and presented with his 2019 Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame award.

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 Hall of Fame is housed in the School of Journalism and Media within the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky.

The 2020 induction ceremony will be held at noon March 31 at UK’s Gatton Student Center.

Tickets, which include parking, are $75 per person and $525 per table. For more information, contact UK School of Journalism and Media Project Manager John Cruz at john.cruz@uky.edu or 859-257-3904.

Register to attend here and click the blue “registration” button at the bottom of the page.


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