Hall to induct six at April 26 ceremony

Jan. 14, 2014

The Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame has selected six people to be inducted during a ceremony on April 26 in recognition of their distinguished careers in newspaper or broadcast journalism or journalism education.

Those to be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the ceremony at Indiana University are:

Walt Bogdanich, who grew up in Gary, Ind., and is a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his investigative journalism. Bogdanich wrote his first news stories for the student newspaper at the University of Wisconsin and has since gone on to be an investigative producer for 60 Minutes and ABC News, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and a member of The New York Times’ investigations desk since 2001. His Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations exposed toxic ingredients in Chinese-made medicines and other products; the corporate cover-up of responsibility for fatal accidents at railroad crossings; and faulty testing done at medical laboratories.

Ruth Chin, a pioneering Chinese-American photojournalist whose career began in 1946 at her hometown Muncie Star at a time when few newspapers had female staff photographers. She soon was winning top state photography awards and became the first female photographer to cover the state high school basketball finals. Chin started her own photography studio in the 1950s. Her work included freelance photography for numerous publications and writing a weekly photography column, "Positives And Negatives," for the Muncie Star for more than 30 years.

Earleen Fisher, who grew up in Milford, Ind., and was a reporter, editor and overseas bureau chief with The Associated Press for more than 30 years. Fisher joined the AP soon after graduating from Indiana University in 1968. She moved to Egypt as a freelance writer in 1977, then rejoined the AP a few years later. She was a reporter in Beirut and Tel Aviv before becoming the AP’s bureau chief in New Delhi and later chief of Middle East Services. Fisher covered stories such as the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She taught in Cairo and Beirut for a few years and retired to her Indiana hometown in 2007.

The late Lillian Thomas Fox, who is regarded as the first African-American writer for a white newspaper in the state. Fox moved to Indianapolis in the 1880s and became a correspondent for the Freeman, a nationally prominent black newspaper. She was also a civic leader, prominent national speaker and, during 1900-1914, wrote columns and feature stories about the activities of black Hoosiers for The Indianapolis News. She died in 1917.

Jim Hetherington, an Indiana television and newspaper journalist and book author. Hetherington is an Indianapolis native who graduated from Indiana University. He was an editor and writer at the Louisville Times and the Indianapolis Times. He then moved to broadcast journalism in 1963 at WFBM-TV of Indianapolis (now WRTV), where he wrote and produced documentaries and daily editorials. He won several national awards in the 1960s and 1970s for his reporting, which included the civil rights movement and the racial integration of schools. His four books included histories of the Indianapolis war monuments and the city’s Union Station train depot.

James Alexander Thom, who began his writing career as a newspaper journalist and has used extensive researching to author 10 historical fiction novels and one nonfiction book. Thom is an Owen County native and 1961 graduate of Butler University. He worked at The Indianapolis Star as a reporter and editor, then was an editor and columnist for the Saturday Evening Post, a freelance writer for the Washington Post and National Geographic, and an Indiana University journalism instructor before turning to book writing full time. Several of his books focus on Native American culture and, because of the accuracy of his portrayals, the Shawnee nation has made him a full member.

"This is a distinguished group. We look forward to inducting them,” said Sarah Wilson, Hall of Fame board president and publisher of The Rochester Sentinel.