Hall to welcome 7 new members
Seven trailblazers, innovators and defenders of press freedom will join the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in ceremonies April 27 at Woodland Country Club in Carmel.
The new members include editors and reporters, broadcasters and authors who served readers and viewers in markets large and small, local and around the world. They join more than 200 members inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame since its founding in 1966.
The IJHF board solicits nominations from the public through October. At a November meeting, the board selects outstanding journalists for induction the following spring.
"The only tough part of being on the IJHF board is narrowing the field of nominees down to about a half-dozen inductees,” said Stephanie Salter, president of the board. “This year was tougher than ever with a record number of worthy journalists presented for our consideration. The seven we selected truly represent the best of the best."
This will be the first year the hall is partnering with Butler University to promote and preserve the work of Indiana journalists, past and present.
“We already are seeing the benefits of this through our collaboration with students and others at Butler as we prepare for the induction ceremony,” Salter said. “This represents a new chapter in our organization’s story.”
Here is the IJHF Class of 2024:
Bill Benner
For more than three decades, Bill Benner was a sports reporter, writer and columnist at the Indianapolis Star, then wrote a sports column for the Indianapolis Business Journal for another decade. During his long tenure, he covered local and global sports, from high school and local professional teams to Olympics and PanAm games.
Sandra Chapman
Broadcaster Sandra Chapman started as a reporter at WISH-TV in Indianapolis, then moved into her dream beat on an investigative team. After 10 years, she moved to WTHR-TV in Indianapolis, focusing on investigative journalism for 17 years, breaking big stories and winning awards. She continues to shed light on important stories as a documentarian for Prince Media Group, which she leads.
Eric Deggans
Eric Deggans started out as a print journalist, eventually spending several years at the Tampa Bay Times, reporting from different beats, including music and entertainment. He shifted to radio broadcast in 2013, when he became NPR’s first full-time television and media critic, a position he holds today. Deggans also is author of Race Baiter, published in 2012.
Francisco Figueroa
Francisco Figueroa, 1896-1951, was the printer, publisher and editorial contributor to Indiana’s first Spanish language newspaper, El Amigo del Hogar (A Friend of the Home), in the northwest Indiana steel-producing region. Part of the Mexican migrant community drawn to the area after the turn of the century to work in the mills, Figueroa and his family operated the print shop that eventually became home to the newspaper, which documented the experiences of the immigrant community.
Max Jones
Terre Haute Tribune-Star editor Max Jones has spent more than 40 years in journalism, much of it as a leader respected by his staff, fellow journalists and community. Under his leadership, the newspaper has tackled issues that affect not only Terre Haute but also surrounding areas and the state. As leader in the profession, he has supported fellow journalists and news organizations as well as First Amendment rights and open government.
Wallace Terry
Wallace Terry, 1938-2003, was a journalist, documentarian and author who covered war and civil rights for a variety of national newspapers and magazines. From his first job at the Washington Post at age 19, Terry went on to report for national publications as well as author two books, Bloods and Missing Pages. His wrote and narrated Guess Who’s Coming Home, a documentary about Black soldiers in Vietnam.
Kathy Tretter
Along with family members, Kathy Tretter sought to preserve local newspapers by purchasing the Ferdinand News and the then-Dale News in 1990. Today, she is owner and publisher of the Spencer County Leader (an expanded version of the Dale News) and the Ferdinand News, where she edits, reports and writes columns. The award-winning newspapers continue to inform and provide a voice for area residents.
To attend:
The 57th annual induction ceremony, which includes lunch and a program featuring each inductee, is open to the public. (See a PDF invitation.)
Tickets are $60 each for adults and $30 each for children 12 or younger, $20 of which is tax deductible. Tables of eight are available for $480. To purchase tickets, email the hall of fame at injournalismhof@gmail.com. You may use this downloadable form to mail your reservation.
The Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. IJHF and its archives are housed at Butler University in Indianapolis.