09/18/2007
OXFORD, Miss. – Samir Husni, chair and Hederman Lecturer of
journalism at the University of Mississippi, has been
inducted into the Florida Magazine Association’s inaugural
Hall of Fame.
Husni and four other industry leaders received the special
honor Aug. 24 at Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel during the
FMA Annual Publishing Conference and Exposition. More than
200 people attended the ceremony.
Jim Clark, FMA president, said the board wanted to honor
those who have made significant and lasting contributions
to Florida publishing.
“We thought about some people in Florida, naturally, but
then someone mentioned Samir. We discussed how he had
always been willing to appear at our convention as a
speaker and how much advice he had given to young
publishers in the organization who were just starting out.
More importantly, he also largely created the idea of
magazine education in American higher education,” said
Clark, group publishing director for Morris Communications,
publisher of Orlando magazine.
Husni, who was keynote speaker for the conference, said he
was “truly surprised” by the award.
“I’ve been a speaker at FMA for years and to be honored
with its Hall of Fame award is surprising. This has been an
especially humbling experience,” said Husni, who is known
internationally as “Mr. Magazine.”
Husni is “the country’s leading magazine expert” according
to Forbes ASAP magazine, “the nation’s leading authority on
new magazines” according to min:media industry newsletter,
“a world-renowned expert on print journalism” according to
“CBS News Sunday Morning” and “the planet’s leading expert
on new magazines” according to The Chicago Tribune.
He is author of the annual Samir Husni’s Guide to New
Magazines, now in its 22nd year; Launch Your Own Magazine:
A Guide for Succeeding in Today’s Marketplace, published by
Hamblett House, Inc.; and Selling Content: The Step-by-Step
Art of Packaging Your Own Magazine, published by Kendall
Hunt.
Since its inception in 1954, FMA has become the nation’s
largest state magazine association, composed of more than
200 publishing professionals, all based in the Sunshine
State.
FMA established its Hall of Fame to recognize career-long
achievement and excellence within the publishing industry.
Besides being at the pinnacle of his or her career, the
recipients also must have a record of giving back to the
magazine industry as a whole, through either industry
associations or other voluntary forms of service. FMA
executive board members select the recipients.
Other inaugural FMA Hall of Fame inductees were Stephen
Strang, founder of Strang Communications; Joanne Hodges,
vice president of Education Material for the Institute of
Internal Auditors; Linda Marks, owner and publisher of
Special Publications; and Terry Snow, CEO of Bonnier
Corporation/World Publications.
For more information on Samir Husni, visit
For more information on the Department of Journalism, visit