OXFORD, Miss. – Some 50 years ago at the University of Mississippi,
\njournalism was taught in a small building that no longer exists and
\namong the faculty were three professors who would distinguish
\nthemselves as they helped mold the minds of a generation of reporters
\nand editors. In the process, those men \u00ad Jere Hoar, S. Gale Denley and
\nSamuel S. Talbert \u00ad helped establish a legacy of excellence in
\njournalism education that lives on in the newly renovated Farley Hall,
\nhome of the Department of Journalism.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the journalism department and the university rededicated
\nFarley Hall, as well as three classrooms named to honor those
\nprofessors: the J.R. Hoar Center for Excellence in Writing, the S. Gale
\nDenley Digital Photo Lab and the Samuel S. Talbert Reading Room.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Without question, they are the foundation of journalism at Ole Miss,”
\nsaid Samir Husni, journalism chair and Hederman Lecturer. “They’ve
\ntouched countless lives and helped literally hundreds of journalists in
\ntheir careers.”<\/p>\n
Journalism at UM has come a long way since its inception. Hoar
\nremembers when the department was housed in an old army barracks
\nwithout air conditioning, and the faculty consisted of himself and Dr.
\nTalbert, the department chair. But despite the meager beginnings, there
\nwas always a commitment to teach students how to believe in themselves,
\nHoar said.<\/p>\n
“Back then, so many Mississippi students really didn’t know how good
\nthey were,” Hoar said Friday. “That’s what we tried to let them know.”<\/p>\n
Among those young journalists was Ronnie Agnew, who received the 50th
\nanniversary Samuel S. Talbert Silver Em Award on Thursday night during
\nJournalism Week. Agnew, executive editor of The Clarion-Ledger in
\nJackson, beamed with pride about the award.<\/p>\n
“I’m out of words to say what a wonderful opportunity the university
\ngave me,” Agnew said. “To be nurtured the way I was at Ole Miss, I’m
\njust so proud of my university.”<\/p>\n
Talbert chaired the journalism department from 1957 until his death in
\n1972. In 1958, Talbert established UM’s Silver Em Award, which
\nrecognizes a Mississippian or Mississippi-based journalist who has made
\noutstanding contributions in the profession. The award was recently
\nrenamed in his honor. Talbert himself was one of a handful of
\nrecipients of UM’s prestigious Golden Em Award, which recognizes
\nindividuals who’ve made significant contributions to journalism
\neducation at Ole Miss.<\/p>\n
Denley, who died in August after a long illness, was a longtime
\nMississippi journalist and spent many years as director of the Student
\nMedia Center, which oversees The Daily Mississippian, the dmonline,
\nRebel Radio, Newswatch 12 and campus yearbook. In April 2003, the
\nuniversity named its Student Media Center for him.<\/p>\n
Hoar joined the UM faculty in 1956 and taught for 36 years. He received
\nthe campuswide Outstanding Teacher Award in 1974 and the Silver Em in
\n1994. Since then, with more and more people turning to the Internet for
\nnews, Hoar says that while aspects of journalism are changing, the
\nDepartment of Journalism’s core mission remains the same.<\/p>\n
“We have to educate people in new media, because that’s where the jobs
\nare,” Hoar said. “Traditional journalism offers training in writing
\nstructure, which is absolutely important. Courses in ethics, journalism
\nlaw, theory and public opinion are still critical. But the medium is
\nconstantly evolving, and our department will also evolve to meet those
\nneeds.”<\/p>\n
Friday’s rededication ceremony capped off Journalism Week 2008. As part
\nof the week’s activities, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
\nNick Kotz delivered Thursday’s keynote lecture, addressing the role of
\nmedia in the 2008 Presidential Campaign.<\/p>\n
Besides dedicating classrooms to Hoar, Talbert and Denley, the
\ndepartment also recognized the establishment of two new endowed
\nscholarships \u00ad the Bill and Jean May Mississippi Sun Scholarship and
\nthe Clay and Krista McFerrin Sun-Sentinel Scholarship.<\/p>\n
For more information on journalism education at Ole Miss, call the
\nDepartment of Journalism at 662-915-7146 or visit
\nhttp:\/\/www.olemiss.edu\/depts\/journalism\/<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"