N.C. Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations Halls of Fame to induct seven new members April 15

Frank Daniels III, Bill Green, Karen L. Parker, Gary Pearce, Donald Shaw, John Skipper and J. Walker Smith will be inducted into the N.C. Halls of Fame in Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations during an April 15 ceremony in Chapel Hill.

The N.C. Halls of Fame, based in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, honor individuals who have made outstanding, career-long contributions to their fields. Honorees must be native North Carolinians, or must be distinctly identified with the state.

Frank Daniels III	Bill Green
Karen L. Parker	Gary Pearce
Donald Shaw	John Skipper
	J. Walker Smith

Frank Daniels III, a Journalism Hall of Fame inductee, is the former vice president and executive editor of The (Raleigh) News & Observer, among other positions at the newspaper his family founded. Under his leadership, The N&O won many industry awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, and became a leader in the transition to digital newsrooms and Internet publishing including launching one of the first Internet newspapers, nando.net, in 1993. Daniels co-founded two Internet publishing companies and eventually acquired controlling interest in VitalSource Technologies, a digital textbook publishing company he sold to Ingram Digital, where he became chief commercial officer. He then founded Wakestone Press, a Nashville-based publisher focusing on non-fiction stories. He is the editor for community engagement with The Tennessean, and he is a co-owner of The Pilot in Southern Pines, N.C. With his induction, Daniels joins his father, Frank Jr., grandfather, Frank, and his great grandfather, Josephus, in the N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame. His father will introduce him at the induction ceremony.

Bill Green, a Journalism Hall of Fame inductee, is a former ombudsman for The Washington Post, former senior assistant to Sen. Terry Sanford and former vice president of university relations at Duke University. He is also a decorated World War II pilot who flew reconnaissance missions in Italy for the U.S. Air Force. The Zebulon, N.C., native and 1949 Carolina journalism graduate began his journalism career as a reporter for the Durham Sun, becoming editor of the Morganton News Herald and the Shelby Daily Star. He joined the U.S. Information Agency in 1957 and became press officer at U.S. embassies in Bangladesh and South Africa. He was appointed as special assistant to USIA’s deputy director before serving as deputy assistant administrator for public affairs at NASA. The space agency awarded him its Exceptional Service Medal for his work during the early manned space flights. In 1970, he became director of university relations at Duke University. While on sabbatical from Duke in 1981, he served as ombudsman for The Washington Post where he investigated a fraudulent story by a Post reporter. The story won a Pulitzer Prize that had to be returned, and Green’s account of the experience is regarded as a landmark in journalism criticism. R.C. Smith, an old friend and a journalism colleague, will introduce Green at the induction ceremony.

Karen L. Parker, a Journalism Hall of Fame inductee, earned her journalism degree from Carolina in 1965 to become the first African-American woman to earn an undergraduate degree from the University. As a student, she was editor of the UNC Journalist and was inducted into the Order of the Valkyries. Parker, who grew up in Winston-Salem, was a career copy editor. She worked for 15 years for the Los Angeles Times, where she became Sunday News Editor. Her other newspaper experience includes the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Winston-Salem Journal, from which she retired in 2010. Her diary containing accounts of the 1963-64 civil rights movement in Chapel Hill and her experiences on campus is held in the Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library. Parker’s goddaughter, Carol Lambert, will introduce her at the induction ceremony.

Gary Pearce, a Public Relations Hall of Fame inductee, has been a journalist, governor’s press secretary, political consultant, author, blogger, commentator and public affairs consultant. He was a key adviser to former Gov. Jim Hunt through Hunt’s four terms and four campaigns. He began as Hunt’s press secretary and speechwriter, and later became the chief political strategist and policy adviser. He also has advised a wide range of political leaders, including the late Sen. Terry Sanford and Erskine Bowles. He began his career as a reporter and editor for The News & Observer. Pearce authored “Jim Hunt: A Biography” in 2010, recounting Hunt’s life and career, and the economic, social and political changes that have transformed North Carolina since 1950. In 1985, Pearce founded Pearce Research Associates, a strategic-communications consulting firm. Gov. Hunt will introduce Pearce at the induction ceremony.

Donald Shaw, a Journalism Hall of Fame inductee, is a communication historian and theorist, journalism professor, retired U.S. Army Reserve officer, and writer who taught at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media since 1966. He is Kenan Professor emeritus at the school. Shaw also has been visiting professor at six other universities and has lectured at more than 20 universities in the United States and abroad. As a scholar he is best known for his pioneering work, with Max McCombs of the University of Texas, about the agenda setting function of the press, and for his studies of 19th and 20th century American and Southern press history. He is author or co-author of 10 books and many scholarly articles and papers. Richard Cole, former dean of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, will introduce Shaw at the induction ceremony.

John Skipper, a Journalism Hall of Fame inductee, became ESPN president and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks in January 2012. He is a 1978 UNC graduate and frequent visitor with students and faculty at Carolina’s journalism school. In his 14 years with ESPN, he has been a key architect of the company’s explosive growth. Skipper played leadership roles overseeing the company’s television, digital, print and advertising sales initiatives, as well as ESPN’s focus on brand extensions, bringing to life the company’s “best available screen” philosophy across more platforms and with more wide-ranging major rights agreements than at any time since ESPN’s launch in 1979. This strategy – along with an emphasis on live sports – has strengthened ESPN’s relationship with fans while meeting the growing business needs of ESPN’s distributors and advertisers. John Walsh, ESPN executive vice president and executive editor, will introduce Skipper at the induction ceremony.

J. Walker Smith, an Advertising Hall of Fame inductee, is the executive chairman of The Futures Company, one of the leading global foresights and futures research consultancies. He has been described by Fortune magazine as “one of America’s leading analysts on consumer trends.” Smith holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from UNC. He spent 17 years at Yankelovich, a market research company known for the Yankelovich MONITOR, a study of consumer values, motivations and attitudes conducted annually since 1971. In 2008, Yankelovich merged with Henley Centre HeadlightVision to become The Futures Company. Smith has co-authored four books – “Rocking the Ages,” “Life Is Not Work, Work Is Not Life,” “Coming to Concurrence” and “Generation Ageless” – and writes a column on marketing strategy for Marketing Management magazine. Smith also blogs for Branding Strategy Insider and periodically writes about baby boomers for The Huffington Post. For almost 10 years, he was a radio commentator on “City Views,” a public radio show about cities and community life. Steve Davis will introduce Smith at the induction ceremony.

The inductions will be held April 15 in the Hill Ballroom of the Carolina Inn. Tickets to the 5:30 p.m. reception, 6:15 p.m. dinner and ceremony are $75 per person. Contact Leslie Rountree at [email protected] or 919.962.3037 by March 30 for reservations and more information.