UC journalism celebrates 2025 Hall of Fame inductees
Department embraces past, prepares students for the future
The University of Cincinnati's Department of Journalism came together in Charles P. Taft Research Center last month to honor the 2025 Hall of Fame and young alumni award recipients.
UC honored four Hall of Fame and five young alumni inductees. New inductees to the Hall of Fame are David Altman (1968, 1974), Glenn Gamboa (1989), Tony Cook (2003), and Kristy Conlin (2009). The Young Alumni recognized included Carly Hagedon (2011), Eamon Queeney (2011), Keith BieryGolick (2013), Bethany Cianciolo (2013), and Jason Hoffman (2013).
Success as a unit goes to everyone in it.
Jeffrey Blevins Interim head of the UC journalism department
A young program with a rich history
The tradition that celebrated its 15th year anniversary predates the department itself. Its first ceremony was held in 2010, a year before the journalism department in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences was created. Most honorees prior either didn't have a journalism degree or had received only a journalism certificate.
UC’s student run news outlet, The News Record (TNR), bridged the gap that was missing for students seeking out journalism experience prior to the major being established. The news outlet was established in 1936, predating the department by 75 years. Every honoree that evening had held a position at The News Record at some point during their time at UC.
Jeffrey Blevins, intermin head, department head, UC journalism.
The annual ceremony celebrates UC grads who have made a mark on the field or are beginning to break through. This year, as reporting continues to evolve with technology, awards were spread across all forms of media, from magazine editors to photojournalists to broadcast reporters. BieryGolick and Cianciolo are the first UC Journalism Department graduates to be awarded in the ceremony’s history.
Jeff Blevins, the first and longest standing department head (2012-2021), was especially touched at this year's gathering.
Reflecting on this year's awards, he credits the collective efforts of current and former students and department members with the success of young alumni.
“Success as a unit goes to everyone in it,” said Blevins.
Blevins serves as the department’s interim head, He has seen the success that has come from UC’s education, even prior to the established department itself.
“A lot of people in the Hall of Fame were other majors, like political science or communication, because anyone could work at The News Record,” said Blevins. “It’s allowed us to see long term development of the program.”
The ceremony also awarded six current students in the program with scholarships for the upcoming academic year.
The future of journalism evolves with media
As many honorees had mentioned throughout the night, journalism is rapidly changing. From print media being consumed less and less to information on media being spread more and more, new journalists are having to tackle a whole new beast.
As more graduates continue to come out of the relatively new department, the journalism market is changing its priority from the network to the journalist. As talent is given more independent resources online to establish a personal brand, recruiters are more focused on the name of the reporter than the name of the news outlet. Current graduates who may be future award recipients are entering a new era of journalism.
Blevins sees this as a positive.
He advises future journalists to ask themselves, “What am I interested in? What do I really want to know?”
Featured image at top: UC's Department of Journalism celebrated new inductees to its Hall of Fame. Photo/Unsplash
By Emily Widman
Student Journalist, A&S Department of Marketing and Communication
artscinews@ucmail.uc.edu
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