Robert G. McGruder is a name synonymous with diversity in the School of Media and Journalism. McGruder was a trailblazer in the journalism field: first Black editor of The Daily Kent Stater, first Black reporter at The Plain Dealer, first Black president of the Associated Press Managing Editors group and the first Black executive editor at the Detroit Free Press.
Margaret Bernstein, director of advocacy and community initiatives at WKYC-TV, will receive the McGruder Distinguished Lecture Award.
“Margaret is someone who absolutely has been on our radar,” said Thor Wasbotten, professor of Media and Journalism. “She's a tremendous recipient for this award.”
The McGruder Event, which will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 12 in 340 Franklin Hall, honors an individual who has demonstrated excellence in diversity on a local level with the Diversity in Media Distinguished Leadership Award.
“I’m hoping that part of this program helps educate the students that there’s a need for this and that they should be empowered to fight the fight,” said Luke Armour, co-chair of the search committee and associate professor of Media and Journalism
It also awards work published or broadcast in print or online in a student media outlet, other professional media outlets or as part of an MDJ classroom assignment.
Maurice Newman, president of NorthCoast Media and FilmGroup Inc., will receive the Diversity in Media Distinguished Leadership Award.
Newman collaborates with Wasbotten and Eugene Shelton, professor in Media and Journalism, to work with high school students in underserved communities on the east side of Cleveland to get them interested in journalism at a young age.
“We wanted them to feel comfortable and confident telling their own stories first, as they start to understand how the storytelling within communities is so important,” Wasbotten said. “Then [to have] the ability to connect with a university where they may or may not necessarily have a clear path as others would to go to college.”
The event will open with a welcome from MDJ Director Emily Metzgar, followed by Annette McGruder, Robert’s widow who attends the event annually and gives a speech, the two award winners will have an opportunity to speak, and Metzgar will moderate a conversation with Bernstein and the audience.
The Robert G. McGruder Lecture & Awards Program will take place starting at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 12, in FirstEnergy Auditorium (340 Franklin Hall) on the Kent State University campus. To view the Lecture & Awards live, remotely, please fill out this very brief form for the link to join.