The Manship School Hall of Fame honors alumni who have achieved stellar accomplishments in their careers. From Pulitzer Prize winners to political analysts to writers to producers, the Hall of Fame includes some of the most accomplished journalists and communication experts of our time.
Manship School Hall of Fame Honorees
| Hall of Fame Inductee | Year | Biographical Information |
|---|---|---|
| Marvin G. Osborn | 1975 | First director, LSU Journalism Department, 1920-55; led Department to become first in the South to be accredited (1927). |
| Margaret Dixon | 1975 | Managing editor, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, 1949-70; member, LSU Board of Supervisors, 1951-60. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1927. |
| Walter Hitesman | 1975 | President/chief operating officer, The Reader’s Digest. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1939. |
| John C. Merrill | 1975 | Director, LSU School of Journalism, 1980-83; author of more than 20 journalism books; lecturer in more than 80 countries. LSU graduate, M.A.; 1950. |
| William Rivers | 1975 | Washington correspondent, journalism professor and author; academic career took him from LSU to Miami, Texas and Stanford. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1951; M.A., 1953. |
| A.O. Goldsmith | 1975 | Director, LSU School of Journalism, 1955-56, 1969-75; journalist at newspapers in Missouri and Arkansas before entering academe. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1949; M.A., 1951. |
| Frank J. Price | 1975 | Director, LSU School of Journalism, 1956-69. LSU graduate, M.A., 1940. |
| Wes Gallagher | 1975 | President/general manager, Associated Press; AP staff chief during WWII invasion of Europe. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1936. |
| Bruce McCoy | 1975 | Manager, Louisiana Press Association for 26 years; LSU journalism professor and first Journalism School field manager in the South. |
| Nicholas H. Plasterer | 1976 | Editor, Toledo Blade; member, LSU School of Journalism faculty, 1955-76. |
| James “Jim” Bourdier | 1976 | Worked for the Opelousas Daily World before becoming Associated Press award winning photojournalist; honored by APME, NPPA, overseas press club and George Polk Memorial Award. LSU graduate, B.A.; Journalism, 1950. |
| Gene Bylinsky | 1977 | Nationally acclaimed science writer, The Wall Street Journal; science writer for Newhouse newspapers; associate editor, Fortune magazine. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1955. |
| Carolyn Bennett Patterson | 1981 | Senior editor, National Geographic. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1941. |
| Harry H. Kendall | 1982 | Program coordinator, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley; foreign service office, U.S. Information Agency in Latin America, Europe and Asia. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1948. |
| Gus Weill | 1983 | Writer, playwright, poet, television personality and public relations counsel. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1955. |
| Rex Reed | 1983 | Film critic, New York Post and other publications. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1960. |
| Charles East | 1984 | Director, LSU Press. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1948; M.A., 1962. |
| Mack Solomon | 1984 | Assistant page one editor, The Wall Street Journal. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1953; M.A., 1959. |
| Lee Herzberg Jr. | 1984 | President/chairman of the board, Herbert Benjamin Associates advertising agency. Attended LSU, 1940-42, 1946-47. |
| Marcus M. Wilkerson | 1985 | Member, LSU School of Journalism faculty, 1924-53; director, LSU Press, 1935-53. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1924; M.A., English, 1926. |
| Thomas Harris Jackson | 1985 | Supervisor, Associated Press Foreign Desk in New York City, 1950-83; scored WWII world beat, learning exclusively of British Pacific Fleet headquarters move. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1938. |
| Raymond D. Strother | 1985 | One of the nation’s top political advisers; campaign consultant to Senator Gary Hart’s 1984 presidential bid, John Breaux’s senatorial campaign and Buddy Roemer’s Louisiana gubernatorial campaign. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1962; M.A., 1964. |
| Harry J. Middleton | 1986 | Appointed special assistant to President Lyndon Johnson, 1967; remained in that position until Johnson left office; director, LBJ Presidential Library. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1947. |
| Richard H. Wiggins Sr. | 1986 | Member, LSU School of Journalism faculty, 1935-70; served as Reveille and Gumbo business manager for much of that time; established and managed LSU printing office, 1948-70. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1934; M.A., 1936. |
| Jo Thompson Binder | 1986 | Covered Nuremberg War Trials for the Associated Press; later covered trials of other Nazi war criminals; operated own Washington news bureau, 1949-52. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1937. |
| Douglas L. Manship Sr. | 1987 | Pioneer in Louisiana radio and television broadcasting; developed WBRZ-TV into one of Louisiana’s leading stations; president, Capital City Press, publisher of Baton Rouge Morning Advocate and State-Times. |
| Charles P. Manship Jr. | 1987 | Louisiana business and journalism leader; president, Capital City Press, publisher, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate and State-Times; owner, WBRZ-TV. |
| Thomas O. Ryder | 1987 | Publisher, Food and Wine, Travel + Leisure, and New York Woman; vice president, CBS Publications. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1966. |
| Gerald C. Stone | 1988 | Chair, Journalism Department, Memphis State University. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1966; M.A., 1969. |
| Edward Ray Jackson | 1988 | First production manager, Daily Reveille; co-publisher with Joe Silverberg, Lafourche Comet in Thibodaux. |
| Joseph N. Silverberg | 1988 | Co-publisher with Edward Ray Jackson, Lafourche Comet in Thibodaux. LSU graduate , B.A., Journalism, 1938. |
| Sig Mickelson | 1989 | Member, LSU Journalism School faculty, 1939-40; first director, president, CBS Television News, 1954-61; director, Time-Life Broadcasting, 1962-70; head, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1975-78; newspaper/broadcast property owner in Mid-West and California; author, From Whistle Stop to Sound Bite. |
| Bryan Putman | 1989 | WWII combat correspondent; reporter, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate and State-Times before joining United Press International in New Orleans; Manship School endowed scholarship presented in Putnam’s name. |
| Orene Muse Huckabay | 1989 | Publisher, Baton Rouge Register social magazine for 32 years; co-founder, charity fund-raising Mad Hatters. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1930. |
| Jinx Broussard | 1990 | Director of public relations for city of New Orleans; New Orleans mayor press secretary; LSU School of Journalism’s first African American graduate. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1971; M.A., 1986. |
| Ben H. Scarpero | 1990 | 50-year career in civilian journalism/public relations and military public affairs/public information; focused professionally on aviation and space activities, transportation and technology in Europe, the Far and Middle East and Latin America; public relations manager, Garrett Corporation in Los Angeles, 1975-85. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1940. |
| Louis “Woody” Jenkins | 1990 | Long-time member, Louisiana House of Representatives (first elected in 1981); chairman, Great Oaks Broadcasting Corporation and founder, WKG-TV, Baton Rouge’s first independent television station. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1969; J.D., 1972. |
| Sam Hanna | 1993 | Louisiana newspaperman, working for papers in Bastrop and Monroe before becoming owner/publisher, Concordia Sentinel, Franklin Sun, and Catahoula News-Booster; wrote political column distributed statewide. |
| Joseph A. Reaves III | 1993 | Foreign correspondent in China and Europe; UPI and Chicago Tribune reporter. B.A., Journalism, 1972. |
| William E. Giles | 1994 | Reporter, Wall Street Journal; founder/editor, National Observer; while editor of Detroit News, directed reporting project that won Pulitzer Prize for distinguished public service; director, Manship School, 1987-91. |
| Wirt Alfred Williams Jr., | 1994 | Worked at Shreveport Times and New Orleans Item prior to writing career that included six novels and book of literary criticism; nominated for Pulitzer Prize four times; served 33 years on faculty of California State University in Los Angeles. LSU graduate, M.A., 1941. |
| Roland T. Huson | 1995 | Owner, Jonesville Booster and Catahoula News; founder, Zachary Plainsman; publisher, Clinton Citizen Watchman; president, Louisiana Press Association; first weekly newspaper editor to serve on board of directors, Inter American Press Association. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1942. |
| William Blake Brown | 1995 | Executive editor, Montgomery (AL) Advertiser and Alabama Journal when it won a Pulitzer Prize; editor, St. Petersburg Times, Tallahasse Democrat, and Columbus (GA) Enquirer and Ledger. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1962. |
| Cal Abraham | 1996 | Reporter, United Press International in Argentina, Peru and Colombia; international division, public relations manager, NBC; public relations manager, Coca-Cola Export Corp., Brazil, New York and Argentina. |
| Coy Wilton Wynn | 1996 | Headed journalism department, American University in Cairo; director, division of journalism, Lehigh University before joining Associated Press, Beirut, Lebanon; Middle East bureau chief and then Rome bureau chief, Time Magazine; first non-Arab journalist to enter isolated Kingdom of Yemen; only print journalist to fly with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on historic peace mission to Israel; author, Nasser of Egypt and Keepers of the Keys (Wynn’s account of three popes he covered during his career with Time Magazine). |
| Carl Corbin | 1996 | Reporter, New Orleans Times-Picayune before WWII U.S. Army service; post-war career included stints at Hattiesburg American, Associated Press and New Orleans States; vice president, New Orleans States-Item, following States acquisition of Item. |
| Stan Schlosman | 1996 | news writer, KFJB; advertising manager, New Iberia Daily Mail; advertising departments, Baton Rouge State-Times¬ and Jackson (MS) Daily News; later joined family fur business, The Lieber Co., Monroe. |
| William Ivy Hair | 1996 | Faculty, LSU and Florida State University history departments; Callaway Professor of Southern History, Georgia College; author: Bourbonism and Agrarian Protest: Louisiana Politics, 1877-1900, Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Race Riot of 1900, and The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1952; M.A., History, 1953; Ph.D., History, 1962. |
| Sam Montague | 1996 | Reporter, New Orleans Times-Picayune and New Orleans Item-Tribune prior to WWII military service; U.S. Foreign Service press attaché, U.S. Embassy in Mexico City; public relations executive, Kansas City; city’s first tourist commission director; among first persons accredited by Public Relations Society of America. |
| Robert Bruce Smith | 1996 | Left LSU in 1941 once course short of graduation for U.S. Army military service ; rose to rank of Lt. Colonel before leaving service in 1945; reporter/news editor, Lake Charles American Express; resumed military career, 1947; chief, Army’s troop information program; became Army’s youngest general when promoted to brigadier general at age 42; retired from military, 1973, as deputy commanding general for reserve forces, Sixth Army; completed final course necessary for graduation, 1963. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1963. |
| Jesse Cutrer | 1996 | Founder, Red Bird Ice Cream Company, Bogalusa; executive director, Louisiana Milk Commission; president, International Association of Milk Control Agencies. |
| Rea Godbold | 1996 | Reporter, Memphis Commercial –Appeal prior to WWII military service; joined family’s insurance business following the war. |
| David McGuire | 1996 | Press secretary, U.S. Representative Hale Boggs; information officer, Louisiana Office of Emergency Management; established public relations office for New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Morrison; appointed by Morrison as city’s first chief administrative office, 1954. |
| LeRoy Gibbs Adams | 1996 | Reporter, Bogalusa Enterprise, New Orleans Times-Picayune, and Iberville South in Plaquemine, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate; won Margaret Dixon Memorial Award for Freedom of Information; president, Capital Correspondents Association. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1949. |
| Whitney Mundt | 1997 | Member, Manship School faculty 25 years; editor, “Galley West” alumni newsletter; advisor, LSU chapter of Kappa Tau Alpha national journalism honorary society, for over fourteen years; Kappa Tau Alpha Adviser of the Year, 1992. LSU graduate, M.A., English, 1961; Ph.D., English, 1973. |
| Joseph Frederick Planas Jr. | 1997 | Sports reporter, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate for 32 years; editor, Catholic Commentator; Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Distinguished Journalism Award winner, 1996; J.C. Penny Golden Rule Award winner, 1996, for work with Baton Rouge St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen and Bishop Ott Shelter for Homeless Men; author or co-author: Where Heroes Play, History of LSU Basketball, and The Great Coaches, Great Games, Great Players. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1956. |
| Pat Cheramie | 1997 | General Manager, WBRZ-TV; president, Advertising Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, Sales and Marketing Executives International of Greater Baton Rouge, and Louisiana Association of Broadcasters; Pete Goldsby Award winner, 1994; Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Louisiana Association of Broadcasters, 1991. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1966. |
| Paula G. Manship | 1997 | Principal stockholder, Baton Rouge’s Capital City Press following death of husband Charles; philanthropist; with other family members donated $2.3 million to Manship School; subsequently donated additional $125,000 for completion of video lab; founder, Goodfellows-Good Samaritans. |
| Wanda Horn | 1998 | Editor, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate society section for 24 years; launched InRegister magazine with Chris Russo Love, 1989; Horn and Love became known as “hat ladies” for trademark hats that each wore. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1965. |
| William Brooks Read | 1998 | Began radio career at age 13 as staff announce, WJBO; part-time announce, NBC and ABC, New York; WBRZ-TV’s first news director and news anchor; left WBRZ to form Brooks Read & Associates advertising and public relations firm; press secretary, Governor John McKeithen. |
| Charlotte Schexnayder | 1998 | President/publisher, Dumas (AR) Clarion and Delta Advertiser; first woman elect president (1991-92), national Newspaper Association; served several terms, Arkansas House of Representatives; Assistant House Speaker Pro Tem, 1995-97; inducted, LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, 1995. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1944. |
| Jim Russell | 1998 | WWII military service; bureau chief, International News Service and UPI; business and financial editor, Miami Herald; wrote post-retirement syndicated business and economics column for some 300 newspapers nationwide. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1942. |
| Ken Uffman | 1999 | President/chief executive officer, Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge for nearly 50 years; introduced technical innovations that became commonplace in credit bureaus nationwide; received numerous awards and honors from credit bureau trade associations; one of only 44 credit bureau executives in the U.S. recognized as Master Credit Executive by Society of Consumer Credit Executives. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1950. |
| John Maginnis | 2000 | Writes weekly syndicated column on Louisiana political matters for newspapers statewide; frequent commentator on Louisiana politics for national media; author: The Last Hayride (1984) and Cross to Bear (1992). LSU graduate, B.A., General Arts, 1970. |
| Linda Lightfoot | 2000 | Executive editor, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, 1991; State-Times Capital News Bureau head, 1983; assistant executive editor, Morning Advocate and State-Times, 1988; launched legal efforts for access to Louisiana public records. |
| Sue Lyles Eakin | 2001 | History professor, LSU-Alexandria, 1964-87; co-editor with Joseph Logsdon, Solomon Northup’s slave narrative Twelve Years a Slave, 1841-1853; author, books on Southern plantation life; editor/owner with husband, Bunkie Record; columnist/reporter, New Orleans Times-Picayune and Alexandria Daily Town Talk. LSU graduate, M.A., History, 1964; M.A., Journalism, 1965. |
| Jean Harvey Curet | 2001 | Society editor, Baton Rouge State-Times; community leader, volunteer and board member for numerous local charities; Manship School Alumni Association president-elect, Manship School Excellence Fund national chairwoman at time of death, 2001; LSU Hodges Hall conference room named in her honor. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1951. |
| James Featherston | 2001 | Twenty-four year Manship School faculty member; 20-year reporting career at such newspapers as Vicksburg Post-Herald, Jackson Daily News, Denton Record-Chronicle, and Dallas Times-Herald; awarded Pulitzer Prize in “local reporting under deadline pressure” for team coverage of 1953 Vicksburg tornado. |
| Joe Dorsey Smith, Jr. | 2001 | President, publisher, chairman of board, Alexandria Daily Town Talk; WWII Army Air Force veteran; 12-year director and two-year chairman, American Newspaper Publishers Association; director/president, Southern Newspaper Publishers Association; director, UPI Advisory board; director, Newspaper Advertising Bureau; member, Associated Press board; member, Louisiana Board of Regents; member, Manship School Board of Visitors. Awarded LSU honorary doctorate, 2000, in recognition of service to the university. |
| Jay Dardenne | 2002 | Louisiana Lieutenant Governor; named Outstanding Young Lawyer in Louisiana, 1986; elected to Louisiana Senate, 1991; reelected, 1995 and 1999; Louisiana Secretary of State prior to election as Lieutenant Governor; long-time association with Jerry Lewis Telethon and Muscular Dystrophy Association. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1976; J.D., 1979. |
| Cassandra Chandler | 2002 | News anchor/reporter, WRBT-TV; joined FBI as Special Agent, 1985; first African-American female Assistant Special Agent in Charge, San Francisco Field Office White Collar Crimes, Civil Rights, Finance and Administrative Programs, 1997; Section Chief, Investigative Services Division, FBI Headquarters, 2000; FBI’s highest ranking African-American woman. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1979. |
| Lou Major | 2002 | 60-year newspaper career; publisher, Bogalusa Daily News; withstood 1960s Ku Klux Klan intimidation to report on civil rights issues; CEO/executive vice president and later president, Daily News parent company Wick Communications; joined Wick board of directors following 2001 retirement. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1951. |
| Francis Seghers | 2003 | Senior Vice President, Sony Entertainment (European Community Affairs); reporter, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate; worked with Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Business Week before joining Sony Entertainment Europe. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1974. |
| Mark Grant | 2003 | CBS Sports Director; TV producer, ESPN, Jefferson Pilot, and Fox Sports Network. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1981. |
| John Hill | 2004 | Capital bureau chief, Gannett News Service; broke stories on Gov. Edwin Edwards nursing home permit scandal; successfully challenged government efforts to withhold public records from press scrutiny. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1967. |
| Juanita Greene | 2004 | Environmental and conservation writer and activist; reporter, Miami Herald, 1956-87; advocate for preserving Everglades as co-chair of Everglades Coalition; awarded Coalition’s Grass Roots Award, 2001; winner, Polk Award for Miami Herald series on public utility regulation; nominated for Pulitzer Prize for stories related to Cuban refugees; reporting on future of island chain near Miami resulted in establishment of Biscayne National Park. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1945. |
| Bill Ross | 2004 | Nationally recognized journalism/advertising education leader; led effort to elevate Manship School to independent academic status; first chairman, Texas Tech University Department of Mass Communication, 1970-87; Manship School distinguished professor; LSU University Relations interim director, 1997; past president of Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC); with wife Avis endowed Manship School’s Bill and Avis Ross Professorship in Mass Communication, 2001. |
| D. Jensen Holliday | 2005 | Owner/president, Franklin Press; Baton Rouge community leader; vice chair, Manship School Board of Visitors; D. Jensen Holliday Forum named in his honor. LSU graduate, B.A., Business, 1964. |
| William "Bill" Lynch | 2005 | State government reporter, New Orleans States-Item and Times Picayune; 1984 reporting alleged corruption by Gov. Edwin Edwards’ awarding of health-care permits led to Edwards’ federal indictment; appointed by Gov. Charles E. “Buddy” Roemer to head office of inspector general, 1988; reappointed inspector general by Gov. Edwin Edwards, 1991. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1951. |
| Melvin “Kip” Holden | 2005 | Baton Rouge’s first African American mayor, elected, 2004; reelected 2008 and 2012; reported before earning law degree and entering politics; member, Baton Rouge Metro Council, Louisiana House of Representatives and Louisiana Senate. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1974. |
| Jere Longman | 2005 | Sports reporter, New York Times; covered 9/11 Flight 93 crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania; author: Among the Heroes about Flight 93, and The Girls of Summer about U.S. women’s soccer team. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1976. |
| Peter Finney | 2006 | Sixty-year sports reporting career, New Orleans States-Item and Times Picayune; covered major sports events ranging from Olympics to Kentucky Derby; author: LSU Fighting Tigers, Pistol Pete, and Mister Mac. LSU graduate, M.A., Journalism, 1957. |
| John Blanchard | 2006 | Public education and information director, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, 1953; editor of department’s magazine The Conservationist; owned Mansfield Enterprise and Interstate Progress in DeSoto Parish, 1966-82; noted as model weekly newspaper publisher. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1943. |
| Oscar Richard III | 2007 | U.S. Army Air Corps following LSU graduation; captured when plane shot down over France; remained in German prison camp until 1945; LSU Bureau of Public Relations editor of publications, 1949-1965; director, LSU public relations, 1965 until retirement. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1942. |
| Len Sanderson | 2007 | Owner/president, Sanderson Strategies Group public relations firm; reporter, several newspapers and magazines, including Time; manager, numerous political and issue campaigns, including Charles E. “Buddy” Roemer’s gubernatorial campaign, 1987; member Manship School Board of Visitors. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1973. |
| Marjorie Arbour | 2007 | First woman faculty member, LSU School of Journalism; first student to earn LSU Journalism master’s degree; publications editor, Agricultural Extension Division; first Director of Information, LSU College of Agriculture; first woman president, American Association of Agricultural College Editors; named “Woman of the Year in Agriculture,” Progressive Farmer, 1948. LSU graduate, B.A., English, 1992; M.A., Comparative Literature and Journalism, 1925. |
| Oliver “Rick” Richard | 2007 | Chairman, CleanFuelUSA; legislative assistant, U.S. Sen. J. Bennet Johnston, 1978-1981; member, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 1982; chairman/CEO/president, four energy companies, including Fortune 500 Columbia Energy Group; member Manship School Board of Visitors; chair, School’s 2005 Annual Excellence Fund Drive. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1974; J.D., 1977. |
| John LaPlante Jr. | 2008 | Covered Louisiana politics and government over three decades; capital correspondent, Alexandria Town Talk; political reporter and Capital News Bureau editor, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate; wrote Sunday Advocate “Political Horizons” column; Manship School adjunct professor. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1975; M.M.C., 2001. |
| Mike Dunne | 2008 | Baton Rouge Advocate environmental reporter; first recipient, America’s Wetland Conservationist of the Year; twice received Scripps Howard Foundation’s Edward J. Meeman Award; investigative reporter, WBRZ-TV; Manship School adjunct professor; author with photographer Bevil Knapp, America’s Wetland: Louisiana’s Vanishing Coast. LSU graduate, B.A., Broadcast Journalism, 1974. |
| John Spain | 2008 | Executive vice president, Baton Rouge Area Foundation; managing director, Powell Group, private holding company; WBRZ-TV investigative reporter, news director and station manager; station awarded two George F. Peabody awards under Spain leadership; president, Radio-Television News Directors Association, 1986. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1974. |
| Brett Blackledge | 2008 | Awarded 2007 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, Birmingham News; investigation of Alabama two-year college system corruption led to extensive changes in system; reporter, Mobile Register, Associated Press bureaus in Mississippi and Oklahoma, and Education Daily covering White House and Congress. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1986. |
| Russell Carollo | 2009 | Awarded Pulitzer Prize, 1998 for Dayton Daily News expose of military malpractice that led to reform in military health care system. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1982. |
| Jacklyn Ducote | 2009 | First female president, Public Affairs Research Council; executive vice president, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry; coordinator, Public Policy Leadership Institute of Southern Mutual Help Association and 11-parish Rural Recovery Response to Hurricane Katrina and Rita; long-time advocate of improving Louisiana open meeting and public records laws; president, Manship School Alumni Board; chair, Journalism Building renovation committee. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1964; M.A., Library Science, 1965. |
| Laurie Smith Anderson | 2009 | Baton Rouge State-Times and Morning Advocate medical reporter, feature writer, food editor; noted for column “The Patient Person” chronicling colon cancer battle during last 18 months of her life; Capital City Press later compiled the columns into book. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1975. |
| Hugh Mercer Blain | 2009 | “Father” of journalism education at LSU; by Thomas Boyd to teach English and appointed “faculty adviser” to The Reveille; created courses that formed nucleus of journalism curriculum by 1913-14 academic year; worked with Charles Manship, Sr. to create student internships, Baton Rouge State-Times; played major role in bringing women into journalism profession, both as editors and classroom instructors; effort to have journalism recognized as academic pursuit rewarded by LSU’s admitting journalism as department of instruction within College of Arts & Sciences during 1918-19 academic year. |
| James Carville | 2010 | Author, actor, movie producer, talk-show host, CNN political commentator/analyst; chief campaign strategist, Bill Clinton presidential campaign; LSU graduate: B.A., General Studies, 1970; J.D., 1973; honorary doctorate, 1993. |
| Charles P. Manship Sr. | 2010 | Purchased Baton Rouge State and Baton Rouge Times, combined them and created Capital City Press to publish new Baton Rouge State-Times; established Baton Rouge Morning Advocate as city’s first successful morning newspaper, 1925; built WJBO as city’s first successful radio station, 1933; pioneered FM radio in South, putting WBRL-FM on air, 1941; worked with Hugh Mercer Blain to establish LSU’s journalism program; president, American Newspaper Publishers Association, 1944. |
| Kenneth Englade | 2010 | UPI southeast Asia war correspondent; one of last two reporters to depart Saigon at end of Vietnam War; capital correspondent and political columnist, Florida Times-Union; author of 17 books of fiction and non-fiction. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1960. |
| Andrea Clesi McMakin | 2011 | News anchor/reporter, WBRZ-TV; Public Relations Association of Louisiana Communicator of the Year, 2001; Women in Media Award of Excellence, 2003; Louisiana Association of Broadcasters’ Lifetime Achievement Award, 2005; member, Manship School Alumni Executive Board; chair, 2010 Manship School Excellence Fund. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1978; M.M.C., 2010. |
| Tim Cook | 2011 | Manship School Reilly Chair in Political Communication; first occupant, Laurence Lombard Chair, Shorenstein Center, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government; author, Making News: Media Strategies in the House of Representatives, Governing with the News: The News Media as a Political Institution, and Freeing the Presses: The First Amendment in Action. |
| Smiley Anders | 2011 | Reporter. Baton Rouge Morning Advocate; six day per week columnist since 1979; humor writer; received National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ Herb Caen Award, 1985, 1997, 2004 and 2005; author: Sell, Sell, Sell and Best of Smiley. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1959; M.A., Journalism, 1971. |
| Jim Engster | 2012 | President and general manager, Louisiana Radio Network; host, “The Jim Engster Show” aired daily, WRKF-FM; general manager, WRKF; political analyst, WAFB-TV. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1981. |
| Elayn Hunt | 2012 | Police/court reporter, Baton Rouge State-Times, subsequently earned law degree; among first Louisiana women to practice criminal law; instrumental in creating Genesis House, Baton Rouge crisis intervention center; appointed by Gov. Edwin Edwards as director, Louisiana Corrections Department, 1972; first woman in state and second in nation to hold the position; noted for implementing numerous prison reforms; Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, St. Gabriel named in her honor. LSU graduate, B.A., Journalism, 1945. |
| Kevin Reilly Sr. | 2013 | Attended Harvard University; served honorably for three years as lieutenant in the United States Navy; relocated to Baton Rouge in 1953 with wife DeeDee, where he was employed by her family’s then-small billboard company, Lamar Advertising; eventually became chairman and chief operating officer of now one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in United States; served in legislature for 14 years as chairman of House Appropriations Committee; pushed for establishment of public trust fund known as “8g,” with certain oil and natural gas royalties earmarked for education; named secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development in 1992, serving in both Edwards and Foster administrations; children established Kevin P. Reilly Sr. Chair in Political Communication at the Manship School of Mass Communication in 1997; the couple contributed generously to the endowment for the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, the only such institute to focus primarily on the study of media and public affairs. |
| Jay Perkins | 2013 | Manship School journalism professor for more than three decades; known for his hard-nosed, demanding approach to teaching students to become great writers; Reveille faculty adviser; leadership resulted in Manship School’s news editorial program earning significant national recognition; during six-year period, students won 11 William Randolph Hearst Foundation national championships – with 23 top-10 finishes; three times, the school had the nation’s best collegiate journalist; pioneered the incorporation of the Internet into journalism curriculum; taught students how to use it for research and publishing; retired in 2010; now spends summers teaching LSU study abroad courses in Europe. |
| Dan Borné | 2013 | President of both Louisiana Chemical Association and Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance; member of LSU Alumni Association and inducted into university’s Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2001; serves on Manship School Board of Visitors; is an occasional adjunct faculty member; past chairman of the Manship Excellence Fund Drive; hobby is following LSU athletics, serving as public address announcer at Tiger Stadium for 27 years and at Maravich Assembly Center for 25 years. B.A., Nicholls State University, 1968; M.M.C, LSU, 1998. |
| Edward E. "Jersey" Smith | 2014 | Marine World War II veteran, business executive, journalist and cartoonist. BAJ '49 |
| Donna Dees | 2014 | Assistant press secretary to Russell Long, vice president of communication for the CBS distribution of Inside Edition, Million Mom March organizer. BAJ '79 |
| Mona Williams | 2014 | Vice president of Corporate Communications for Walmart, worldwide field public relations for AT&T Business Services. BAJ ‘75, MAJ ‘76 |
| Ralph Izard | 2014 | Interim Manship dean, 2010-11; Sig Mickelson/ CBS professor, 2001-10; Media Diversity, Race & Cultural Literacy leader; E.W. Scripps School director; journalist, educator, author. |
| Gary Hymel | 2015 | Former chief aide and press secretary to the late Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill Jr.; graduated from LSU with a master’s degree in journalism in 1959; political columnist at the New Orleans States-Item; Louisiana correspondent for Time magazine; public information officer with the Louisiana National Guard; joined U.S. Rep. Hale Boggs as chief of staff in the office of majority whip; served Boggs and O’Neill Jr. in the offices of whip, majority leader and Speaker of the House; wrote “All Politics is Local” with Speaker O’Neill; 1981, joined Hill and Knowlton Public Affairs Worldwide as senior vice-president and chief lobbyist; in retirement, served four years on the Louisiana Board of Ethics. |
| James O’Byrne | 2015 | Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his work at The Times-Picayune; graduated from LSU in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism; 34 years at The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com in a number of capacities including investigative reporter, features editor, Sunday editor and website editor; currently vice president of innovation; two of the three Pulitzer Prizes he shares are for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. |
| Michael Danna | 2015 | 30-year career as public relations director for the Louisiana Farm Bureau and host of the organization’s long-running agricultural television program “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture;” graduated from LSU in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism; he and his staff have received six Telly Awards for excellence in television reporting; named Marketer of the Year by the Baton Rouge chapter of Sales and Marketing Executives International in 2008, Communicator of the Year by the Public Relations Association of Louisiana in 2011, and Baton Rouge Advertising Federation the Communications Manager of the Year in 2001. |
| Malva Haynes Huson Brown | 2015 | Journalist, editor and newspaper publisher/owner; graduated from LSU in 1936 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism; one of the first female editors of The Daily Reveille; society editor for the State-Times; also worked in public relations for the Division of Tourism of the Louisiana Department of Commerce and Industry. |
| Craig Kelley | 2016 | Indianapolis Colts, 1985-2014, Vice President- Public Relations Director; NFL’s PR Staff for 16 Super Bowls. BA '82 |
| Charlie McBride | 2016 | Government relations and business consultant, Charles McBride Associates. BA ’65 |
| Alfred N. Delahaye | 2016 |
Nicholls Public Relations Director; founder of Nicholls Mass Comm Department. Key organizer of LSU journalism alumni group. BA '49, MA '51 |
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Jeffrey D. Wright (In Memoriam) |
2016 | Advertising & PR expert, Community Volunteer, Partner – Graham Group, 1988-2005, Principal/Co-Founder Wright Feigley Communications. BA '82 |
| Lou Gehrig Burnett | 2017 | Veteran Capitol Hill communications chief, political pundit and independent publisher. BAJ '63; MAJ '65 |
| Marie Bissell Constantin | 2017 | Internationally known still photographer and author. BGS '80, BAJ '86 |
| Alex Martin | 2017 | Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and editor of the Wall Street Journal. BAJ '81 |
| Richard Manship | 2018 | Part owner of WBRZ-TV and WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge and KRGV-TV in Rio Grande Valley, Texas, ardent supporter of the Manship School |
| David Manship | 2018 | Part owner of WBRZ-TV and WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge and KRGV-TV in Rio Grande Valley, Texas, ardent supporter of the Manship School |
| Doug Manship | 2018 | Part owner of WBRZ-TV and WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge and KRGV-TV in Rio Grande Valley, Texas, ardent supporter of the Manship School |
| Dina Manship Planche | 2018 | Part owner of WBRZ-TV and WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge and KRGV-TV in Rio Grande Valley, Texas, ardent supporter of the Manship School |
| Richard “Dick” Alario | 2018 | Retired oil industry CEO, public company board director and founder of Alario Performance Management '76 |
| William "Bill" Dickinson | 2018 | Inaugural editorial director of the Washington Post Writers Group, retired Manship School distinguished professor |
| Frank Donze | 2019 | 1977 graduate of the Manship School; served as the “dean” of New Orleans political reporters and was with the Audubon Nature Institute at the time of his passing; The Daily Reveille a sports editor; began career at The Times-Picayune as New Orleans City Hall reporter; covered five mayoral administrations; member of The Times-Picayune team that won two Pulitzer Prizes, a George Polk Award, a National Headliner Award and the Medill Award for Courage in Journalism for coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath |
| Kim Hunter Reed | 2019 | Received a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism from the Manship School in 1987; serves as Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education, which made her the only female in the country currently serving as a state higher education lead who has led higher ed in more than one state; served as executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education; served in President Barack Obama’s administration as deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education; chaired Louisiana’s higher education transition team and served as the State’s policy director; served as chief of staff and deputy commissioner for public affairs for the Louisiana Board of Regents and executive vice president of the University of Louisiana System |
| Lyn Rollins | 2019 | Received a master’s in journalism from the Manship School in 1988; is believed to have called more televised college baseball games than any other announcer in the country; lead play by play broadcaster for SEC and ESPN coverage of LSU Sports since its inception; the primary play-by-play broadcaster for Jumbo Sports’ groundbreaking telecasts of LSU baseball and other state schools beginning with LSU coverage in 1994; four-time Louisiana Sportscaster of the Year and a 2018 inductee in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism |
| Donna Britt | 2020 | Graduated from LSU in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in music education; became a beloved journalist and anchor reporting on countless major news events across Louisiana over the next three decades at WAFB-TV; served on the LSU Student Media Board for several years helping to select student editors and station managers; mentored Manship School students as interns at WAFB and through the LSU International Hospitality Foundation’s Friendship Host Program; has been honored with numerous awards for her work in journalism and media, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters, as well as a Suncoast Regional EMMY awards for human interest and best newscast |
| George Lockwood | 2020 |
Former beloved Manship School faculty member; was a longtime editor at The Milwaukee Journal; oversaw its Pulitzer Prize-winning series on pollution, which drove changes in industrial waste regulation policy in Wisconsin; served as executive editor of the St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press; after more than 40 years in the newspaper business, joined the Manship School as the Fred Jones Greer, Jr. Chair in Media Business and Ethics; during his time as Greer Chair, organized the first John Breaux Symposium, “The Press at the Turn of the Century” |
| Jim Michie | 2020 | Earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from LSU in 1962; spent his career as a broadcast journalist at WDSU-TV and WTOP-TV and as a mass communication and public affairs professional whose last major stop before retirement was as director of news media services for U.S. Customs and Border Protection; worked for U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Office of the Director of the CIA, Rowan & Blewitt Incorporated and the committee staffs of U.S Senator Edward M. Kennedy, U.S. Congressman Ted Weiss and U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III; experience in the nation’s capital spanned more than three decades, serving in positions as manager of internal and external communications, chief investigator for Congressional committees and crisis communication consultant; reporting has been recognized with awards and honors; his mini-documentary series on highway transportation hazards at WTOP-TV won an Emmy |
| Herb Vincent | 2020 | Graduated from LSU in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism; responsible for all communications, public relations, branding and social media strategies for the Southeastern Conference; serves as the associate commissioner for communications for the SEC and is the 2019-2020 president of College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA); was senior associate athletics director at LSU from 2002-2013 and simultaneously served as associate vice chancellor for communications and university relations for LSU from 2009-2013; previously was sports information director at LSU from 1988-2000; recipient of the Arch Ward Award in 2019, the most prestigious recognition given by the organization; author of “LSU Football Vault: The History of the Fighting Tigers” (Whitman Publishing, 2008); inducted into LSU Alumni Association's Hall of Distinction in 2015 |
| Bob Boccaccio | 2023 | Bob Boccaccio graduated in broadcast journalism from LSU in 1981. After a decade as a TV news photographer and production house cameraman and editor, Boccaccio opened Baton Rouge-based Boccaccio Productions, which would serve as his launchpad for a 25-year slot as Louisiana’s go-to director/cameraman. Between 1991 and his retirement in 2016, Boccaccio shot and/or provided crews for nearly 4,000 productions, including multiple Super Bowls, Final Fours, NBA All-Star Games and six national championship football games. He directed, shot and edited LSU’s debut coach’s show, The Skip Bertman Show, and was the first call for ESPN, NFL Network and the SEC Network. |
| Connie Ledoux Book | 2023 | Connie Ledoux Book, Ph.D., is a passionate advocate for higher education and its power to transform students’ lives. She spent 16 years as an Elon faculty member and administrative leader, helping to build the university’s reputation for excellence in engaged teaching and learning. In 2015, she accepted a groundbreaking role as the first female provost and chief academic officer at The Citadel. Following her accomplishments there, she returned to Elon as president in 2018, bringing a deep appreciation for the university’s unique history and its rapid rise to national prominence. |
| Kurt Davis | 2023 | Kurt Davis is an established journalist and corporate executive with 40-plus years in the broadcast industry. As executive vice president of CBS Affiliate Relations, Davis is in charge of daily operations and the relationship between CBS and hundreds of CBS affiliates across the nation. Davis previously served as vice president, news services, for CBS News, where he was responsible for overseeing CBS Newspath, the CBS News satellite newsgathering organization, which provides video to over 200 affiliates and broadcasters worldwide. Prior to joining CBS News and ViacomCBS, Davis spent 10 years as executive news director at CBS affiliate KENS-TV in San Antonio, Texas. |
| Louis Day | 2023 | Louis Day, Ph.D., an expert in media law and ethics, holds the position of alumni professor emeritus at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. For 35 years, Day taught and conducted research in the areas of media law and media ethics. He is the author of one of the leading textbooks in media ethics, “Ethics in Media Communications: Cases and Controversies,” which draws from the historical foundations of professional ethics and media law. |
| Martin Johnson | 2024 | Martin Johnson, Ph.D., started his career in journalism by serving as editor-in-chief of the Reveille and earning a bachelor’s degree from the Manship School in 1991. He went on to earn a master’s and doctorate in political science from Rice University before becoming department chair and professor at University of California, Riverside, and eventually returning to the Manship School as the Kevin P. Reilly, Sr. Chair in Political Communication. He was named the School's third dean in July 2018 and served until his passing in September 2020. |
| Gil LeBreton | 2024 | Gil LeBreton’s sportswriting career spanned more than five decades, beginning with the Times-Picayune in his hometown of New Orleans and continuing for 37 years as an award-winning sports columnist with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Over the years, LeBreton covered 26 Super Bowls, 16 Olympic Games, 16 NCAA Basketball Final Fours, soccer's World Cup, the Masters, the Tour de France, the NBA Finals, hockey's Stanley Cup Finals and the Wimbledon tennis championships. |
| Abram "Abe" McGull | 2024 | Abram “Abe” McGull has distinguished himself as a public affairs officer in the United States Navy, a news photographer at WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and as an elected official in Missouri. McGull is the founder of the McGull Law Firm that focuses upon personal injury claims and criminal defense. Prior to establishing his private practice in law, McGull was an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Department of Justice and a Commander in the United States Navy for 21 years. In civilian life, McGull used his communication skills to become the first Black mayor of Pleasant Valley, Missouri. He later ran for public office in Springfield, Missouri, and was elected twice to the city council, where he currently serves. |
| Wendy McMahon | 2024 | A highly accomplished media executive with a record of driving audience growth and business success across all broadcast, digital and streaming platforms, Wendy McMahon is president and chief executive officer of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures (CMV). She assumed this newly created and expanded role that includes singular oversight of CBS News and Stations, as well as leadership of CBS' domestic syndication business, in August 2023. McMahon leads all of CBS News' broadcast and streaming operations, 27 local television stations, 14 local news streaming channels and CMV's top-rated first-run syndication programming, as well as its content licensing to television stations and the division's national advertising sales business. |