Careers in Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations Lead to Halls of Fame

Posted on March 25, 2011

Six prominent names in the fields of journalism, advertising and public relations will be inducted into the N.C. Halls of Fame on April 10 at The Carolina Inn. Two other honorees will receive Next Generation Leadership Awards.

Based in UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the N.C. Halls of Fame in Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations honor individuals who have made outstanding, career-long contributions to their fields. Honorees must be native North Carolinians or must have made significant contributions to the state.

The 2011 inductees to the N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame are:

• Joseph Mitchell ’29, posthumously, a Fairmont native, reporter and writer who chronicled the lives of ordinary New Yorkers;
• Gene Price of Goldsboro, who served more than 50 years as editor, managing editor and editor emeritus of the Goldsboro News-Argus;
• Chuck Stone of Chapel Hill, the Walter Spearman Professor emeritus at UNC and the first black columnist and first black editor of the Chicago Defender and the Philadelphia Daily News; and
• Ed Williams of Charlotte, who earned widespread recognition for innovation and leadership during his 35-year career at The Charlotte Observer.

This year’s inductee to the N.C. Advertising Hall of Fame is Roy Park Jr. ’61 of Charlotte and Ithaca, N.Y., president and chairman of Park Outdoor Advertising and the Triad Foundation. Clarence Whitefield ’44 of Durham, inductee to the N.C. Public Relations Hall of Fame, was public relations director for Duke University until returning to Carolina to lead the General Alumni Association from 1970 to 1982.

The Next Generation Leadership Award is given by the N.C. Halls of Fame to recognize individuals who represent the next generation of leadership in their fields. This year’s recipients are:

• Bill Goodwyn ’82 of Charlotte, president of global distribution and chief executive officer of Discovery Education for Discovery Communications, and
• David Oakley ’84 of Charlotte, president and founding partner of the Boone Oakley agency in Charlotte, named Southeast Small Agency of the Year by Advertising Age in 2009.

Tickets to the 5:30 p.m. reception, 6:15 p.m. dinner and ceremony are $75 per person. Contact Lori Haight at lhaight@email.unc.edu or (919) 962-3037 by April 1 for reservations and more information.

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