Paying it forward from a paper-route past: How Richard Stevens supports the next generation of journalists

At about 10 years old, Richard Stevens, BSJ ’63, landed his first job in journalism: delivering newspapers for The Cleveland News. Just two years later, he was delivering for The Cleveland Press, a Scripps-Howard publication. He didn’t know it at the time, but he was starting a lifelong affiliation with the Scripps name in journalism.

“I became very attached to the newspaper and newspaper reporting. In fact, I probably read more of the newspaper than I did books,” Stevens said.

As he grew up, Stevens rose through the ranks of newspaper delivery, all the while fostering a burgeoning love of journalism. Stevens earned summer internship positions that helped establish marketing and communications in health care and state government offices during his undergraduate years in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and became the first in his family to graduate from college. His hard work paid off when his career took him in many directions—all of which were served by the journalism program, which he described as “a tremendous base, academically, that prepares you for the future of what you’re going to be doing.”

After graduating from OHIO, Stevens worked as a publication editor for health care and scientific organizations, gaining experience in advertising, marketing and communications. Stevens credits the journalism program with giving him the ability to “understand and interpret issues for a wider audience,” which he found particularly helpful when writing about highly technical scientific issues.

This breadth of exposure to the medical industry, and experience as a marketing manager in GE’s Medical Systems, led Stevens to a fruitful partnership with collaborator William Zabriskie to launch Medical Advances, Inc., a business based on the Medical College of Wisconsin’s patented MRI technology.

Since then, he established the Richard J. Stevens, BSJ ’63, Scholarship in Journalism to support emerging journalists at OHIO. 

Stevens intends that the extra financial assistance from this scholarship will free up valuable time in recipients’ schedules to get hands-on experience in the field.

“Scholarships are everything,” said Alexandra Hopkins, a senior studying journalism in the Honors Tutorial College and one of three recent scholarship recipients. “They help support professional and personal projects and ease the financial anxiety of being a student.”

Journalism education relies heavily on experiential learning: reporting on issues in the local or University community, taking photographs, designing publications and more. Because those activities are so time-consuming, students often must decide between joining student news outlets and financially supporting themselves through paid jobs, adding pressure to the regular stress of being a student.

Disha Hoque, a junior also studying journalism in the Honors Tutorial College, said the scholarship has relieved the burden of financially supporting herself.

“Because of that, I’ve felt stability to settle in Athens and enjoy myself here but also look ahead and see how I make my next goals happen or what I want out of OHIO after I leave,” she said. Hoque has been able to build a foundation for her future career through roles as co-photo chief at Thread magazine and writing for The Post. She also manages communications for the University’s South Asian Student Association.

Hans Meyer, director of the Scripps School of Journalism, said the breadth of hands-on learning opportunities at OHIO is what sets it apart from other journalism programs.

“A scholarship like this one makes a big difference for the students,” he said. “If you don’t have to worry about getting a job or not working as many hours, then you can get involved with student publications or with the advertising agency,” in addition to having time to focus on classwork.

“Scholarships reduce a lot of the financial pressure students face, which makes it possible to focus more deeply on our work,” agreed Ainsley Brandabur, a junior in the strategic communication track who developed writing experience at The Post and is now involved in Kappa Alpha Zeta, a professional marketing and business fraternity founded at OHIO in 2018. “For journalists, who often spend extra time reporting in the field, covering events or taking on other learning opportunities, scholarships allow us to take the time to enjoy these things with less of a financial burden.”

Ultimately, Stevens is proud to be able to contribute to the excellence of journalism education at his alma mater.

“OHIO’s journalism program gives students a tremendous base academically and prepares them for the future of what they will be doing,” he said. “With the endowment, I wanted to encourage other first-generation students to have the opportunity to attend OHIO and major in journalism, but more importantly, to have the opportunity to gain experiences and opportunities and pursue what they want to do in life.”