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100 Years of Journalism Education
1923-2023

100-Year Anniversary

E.W. Scripps with the words 100 Years (1923-2023) E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University

From a river valley in Appalachian Ohio to the global stage: One hundred years of hands-on education, practical experience and intellectual exploration.

How It Began:

  • 1923 – English professor and Ohio University alumnus Raymond Slutz offers the University’s first journalism courses.
  • 1924 – The new Department of Journalism, part of the College of Liberal Arts, hires George Starr Lasher as director. The program offers courses in news reporting, news editing and magazine writing.
  • 1925 – Journalism students begin taking elective courses in which they report and edit copy for The Athens Messenger.
  • 1936 – The School of Journalism —created as part of the College of Commerce (now the College of Business)— is housed on the first floor of Ewing Hall.

It's a party, and you're invited! The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism is celebrating its centennial year with a roster featuring some of the world's best investigative reporters, a symposium featuring top-tier recent alumni, a celebration of the school's contributions to foreign correspondence, a ceremony honoring alumni who have won journalism's top awards, and an exhibit to commemorate the founding of the E.W. Scripps Co. and its contributions to journalism. Check back often to see the monthly alumni video series and to get details on upcoming events. See, hear and share J-celebrations using #scrippsschool100 on Twitter.

Journalism 100-Year Anniversary Events

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Friday, October 6 Journalism Centennial Homecoming Celebration 4:00 PM Alden Library

Previous Events

Miss an event or eager to watch a replay? Check out previous events from the 100-Year Anniversary Celebration.

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Our Next Event

A Celebration of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's Legacy of Foreign Correspondence

Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.

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2:30 p.m. – Normandy Park on Richland Avenue Near the Ohio University Inn

The rededication ceremony will honor the war correspondents that landed at Normandy, France on D-Day (June 6, 1944) with American troops and covered the march to Germany. Normandy Park was originally dedicated in 1981, an effort led by John R. Wilhelm, a former D-Day correspondent himself. Wilhelm was the dean of the College of Communication at the time of dedication and was also a former director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

4 p.m. – Vernon R. Alden Library, Fifth Floor

The unveiling and rededication of the Cornelius Ryan Room on the fifth floor of the Vernon R. Alden Library will commemorate Cornelius Ryan, an Irish journalist who was also John R. Wilhelm’s friend and D-Day colleague. Ryan compiled his World War II reporting notes, originally for The (London) Daily Telegraph, into several successful books. He was the author “The Longest Day: 6 June, 1944 D-Day” and “A Bridge Too Far,” both of which were turned into blockbuster films. Ryan’s collection of extensive notes and papers was donated to Ohio University after his passing, and are currently housed in the Vernon R. Alden Library. The Ryan Room is part of the Robert E. and Jean R. Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections.

Speakers

Headshot of Peter Copeland

Peter Copeland

Peter Copeland has been a journalist, foreign correspondent, Washington bureau chief and author during a career of more than 40 years.

A former Washington bureau chief for the E.W. Scripps Co., Copeland was the editor and general manager of Scripps Howard News Service, which distributed stories and photos to newspapers and digital media around the world.

He began his career as a night police reporter in Chicago. Copeland covered Latin America for five years based in Mexico City and came to Washington to cover the Pentagon. He covered the U.S. invasion of Panama, the Gulf War and the intervention in Somalia and has reported from dozens of countries on five continents.

Copeland has written, edited and produced stories for newspapers, magazines, television and online. He has published five books. The most recent is a memoir, “Finding the News: Adventures of a Young Reporter.”

Copeland has been a regular visitor to Ohio University as a speaker, guest lecturer and recruiter. He is a member of the Gridiron Club and has been a board member of the National Press Foundation, Scripps Howard Foundation, International Center for Journalists and the Thomas Jefferson Center for Protection of Free Expression. Copeland was on the board of GFR Media, the largest media company in Puerto Rico. He also was a member of the White House Correspondents Association and the American Society of News Editors.

Born in Chicago, Copeland has a degree in government from Lawrence University and studied politics at the University of Exeter in England. He lives in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City with his wife, Maru Montero. They have two grown children.

Twitter: @PeterMCopeland

Headshot of Jim Heintz

Jim Heintz

Jim Heintz is a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Russia and much of the former Soviet Union since 1999. A San Francisco native, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and began his journalism career as a stringer for Toledo public radio station WGTE. Heintz studied print journalism at Ohio University and worked at The Post from 1980-82.

After university, he was a general assignment reporter at The Athens Messenger for two years, then joined The AP at its Columbus bureau in 1984. Heintz transferred to New York City in 1987. In 1996, he was named AP’s Stockholm-based news editor for the Nordic-Baltic region. In Heintz’s career overseas, he has covered events ranging from wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq to figure skating. He was in Kyiv, Ukraine, for the outbreak of the conflict with Russia; Heintz returned to Moscow amid heightened security concerns in June 2022. He is a graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

Twitter: @jeheintz

Headshot of Steve Maschino

Steve Maschino

Steve Maschino is a first cousin (twice removed) to Ernie Pyle, a Scripps-Howard Newspapers World War II correspondent. He is also a director of the Ernie Pyle Legacy Foundation, which was established to foster ongoing recognition of the distinct contributions of Pyle, who died April 18, 1945, from a sniper’s bullet at Iejima, an island in the Pacific Theater. Pyle was a nationally syndicated roving correspondent for Scripps-Howard before he volunteered to cover the war. Pyle went ashore on Omaha Beach with American soldiers during the D-Day landing and received a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his war correspondence. Pyle wrote about soldiers on the front lines and was considered the G.I.’s best friend. Burgess Meredith portrayed Pyle in the film, “The Story of G.I. Joe.”

Maschino is an environmental and safety manager with 40 years of experience who resides in the Dallas, Texas, area where his daughters and parents live.

The foundation’s recent accomplishments are establishing “Ernie Pyle Remembrance Day” on April 18 to honor Ernie on the day he was killed and “National Ernie Pyle Day” via a resolution of the U.S. Senate on Aug. 3, Ernie’s birthday. Most important is the work being done to honor young journalists through the Ernie Pyle Legacy Award in a partnership with the Scripps Howard Foundation. The award program connects to journalism departments of more than 600 schools and universities.

And the Next 100 Years?

You — students, alumni, supporters and friends — help the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism remain one of the top 10 journalism schools in the country.

The school invites you to participate in this centennial and the next 100 years by to an Ohio University Foundation account to support student scholarships or experiential learning opportunities.

The school has designated two scholarship accounts for centennial contributions:

  • The Pete Costanzo Scholarship for First-Year Journalism Students allows the school to recruit outstanding high school students from all backgrounds by offering them a scholarship upon enrollment. Costanzo is a proud journalism school alumnus whose career spans more than 30 years in solving strategic marketing and communication problems for a wide variety of industries. After clicking the "donate" button, you'll be redirected to a secure giving form. In the box that says "Then choose the specific fund you'd like to support", scroll to select the scholarship.
  • The Clarence Page Scholarship for African American Students in Journalism is awarded to students who work for "The Post". It is named in honor of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning alumnus Clarence Page, who was a reporter at "The Post" during his time on campus. Page is a syndicated columnist for the "Chicago Tribune". Click the "donate" button to be redirected to a secure giving form. In the box that says "Then choose the specific fund you'd like to support", scroll to select the “Sp” option.

Those who want to support the journalism operating fund, which is used to bring top-level industry leaders to campus and to provide experiential learning opportunities to students, are invited to donate to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism fund. Click the "donate" button to be redirected to the secure giving form. The fund will automatically load into the second box.

Donate

Thank you. The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism invites you to visit any time.