MDDC's 2008 Newspaper Hall of Fame Inductees |
 Harry C. Black, The
Baltimore Sun, 1887-1956 -- Black was the chairman of the board of the A.S. Abell
Company, which published the Baltimore Sunpapers, for more than 25 years. In the 1920s,
Black, Paul Patterson and H.L. Mencken worked together on a plan to position The Baltimore
Sun as a major national newspaper. The resulting memorandum, called the "White
Paper," became the paper's mission statement for generations. Black had a reputation
for philanthropy. He commissioned the bulk of his estate to create the Abell Foundation,
which he chaired, and which gave money to places like Johns Hopkins University and event
towards landscaping around the Washington Monument. |
 Herbert Block
("Herblock"), The Washington Post, 1909-2001 -- Her Block began his
career at the Chicago Tribune at the age of 19. He joined The Post in 1946 after having
already won one Pulitzer Prize. While with The Post, he won two more for his personal
works and shared in a fourth Pulitzer won by The Post for its coverage of the Watergate
scandal. Publisher Katharine Graham said of Herblock, "Journalistic enterprises run
best when writers and editors have a lot of autonomy. But Herb's case is extreme. And
because he's a genius, it works." |
 Philip Merrill,
Capital Gazette Communications, Inc., 1934-2006 -- In 1968, Merrill purchased a
struggling company that consisted of two newspapers with circulations around 13,000 each.
Under his direction his enterprise saw tremendous growth. It now comprises a 50,000-circ
daily, a 30,000-circ bi-weekly, four weeklies, and other commercial interests. Merrill
also worked for the government in various capacities. He served as counselor to the Under
Secretary of Defense, Assistant Secretary General of NATO, as a member of the Defense
Policy Board, and was chairman of the Export-Import Bank. Merrill's greates impact was as
a philanthropist. He gave generously to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the University of
Maryland, Johns Hopkins University and many other institutions. |
 John Henry Murphy Sr.,
The Afro-American, 1840-1922 -- Born a slave in Baltimore, Murphy was freed by
the Maryland Emancipation Act of 1863 which freed slaves that served the state in the
Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, Murphy held various jobs, including
working as manager of the Afro-American printing department. In 1897, Murphy purchased the
printing presses of the Afro-American at auction and merged it with his church's weekly
publication, the Sunday School Helper. In 1890, he merged again with the Ledger and became
the Afro-American Ledger. Murphy then built his newspaper into one of the most influential
black newspapers in the country. In its pages he crusaded for racial justice. He was
elected president of the National Negro Press Association in1913 and worked directly with
his newspaper until his death. |
 Moses Newson, The
Afro-American -- Moses Newson was a pioneering journalist in the area of Civil
Rights, covering stories throughout the South and the rest of the country during the
height of the movement in the 1950s and 60s. His coverage was crucial, making it possible
for the black press to clearly portray events to the black community. While stories
including the Emmitt Till murder and trial, the Little Rock Nine integration and the CORE
Freedom Rides were a significant part of his work, so was his coverage of things like
political conventions, independence for the Bahamas, Nigeria after its civil war, the
struggle over apartheid in South Africa, and much more. In addition to reporting, Newson
also served the Afro as city editor, executive editor and managing editor. |
 Shirley Povich, The
Washington Post, 1905-1998 -- Shirley Povich wa 17 when, in 1922, he caddied one
afternoon for Ned McLean, publisher of The Post. McLean divined a talent in Povich and
convinced him to move to Washington for $20 a week to caddy and $15 more to work as a copy
boy at The Post. Within two years, Povich had worked his way onto The Posts's sports
staff, and by age 20, was the youngest sports editor in the country. He wrote a column,
"This Morning with Shirley Povice," for nearly 50 years, interrupted only by a
stint as a war correspondend during WWII. For almost 75 years, Povich was an eyewitness to
some of the most significant moments in sports history: the Senators first World Series
championship in 1924, the defeat of Sonny Liston by Cassius Clay in 1964, the massacre of
11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics, and Cal Ripkens's
breaking of Lou Gehrig's streak of consecutive baseball games played. |
 George E. Randall,
The Frederick News-Post, 1950-2004 -- George Randall was a great-grandson of
William T. Delaplaine Sr., who, in 1883 founded The Daily News, the newspaper that evolved
into The Frederick News-Post, the sole remaining exclusively family-owned daily newspaper
in Marylnd. In 1983, after getting a masters in photojournalism and a law degree, Randall
became assistant managing editor and legal counsel of The News-Post. When his family put
the newspaper up for sale in 2001, Randall and his mother and siblings formed Randall
Family LLC and bought the newspaper, installing George as editor and publisher. In his
role, he was instintively protective of the right of a free press, served numerous civic
organizations, and supported many charitable organizations. |
 Robert B. Sincell Sr., The
Republican, 1926-2003 -- Robert Sincell practically grew up around newsppers.
From the time he was able to toddle around, he was with his father and grandfater in the
office of The Republican, the Oakland, MD, newspaper owned by his family since 1890. And
after college and a stint in the Navy, Sincell returned to Garrett County and to his
family's newspaper, which is where he would stay the rest of his life. In the mid-1970s,
after his father became ill and was unable to work, Sincell took over the company with his
uncle, George Hanst, who was the editor. All five of Rober Sincell's chilren worked at The
Republican at one time or another. Two are still there: son Don Sincell is the editor and
Mary Sincell McEwen is the senior staff writer. |
 John Steadman, The
Baltimore News American / The Baltimore Sun, 1928-2001 -- John Steadman, who
wrote for his college newspaper, spent one season in baseball's minor league where he hit
.125 before giving up baseball for writing. He began at the Baltimore News American as a
reporter. It was the start of an iron man-like streak of sports coverage and of loyal
readership that followed him for 55 years. Steadman was sports editor of the News American
when it folded in 1986. He then joined The Evening Sun, and when that folded in 1995, he
joined The Baltimore Sun. Steadman followed the Baltimore Colts from their first scrimmage
in 1947. He coverd every single Colts game, all the way up to and including their rebirth
as the Ravens, attending his last game in December 2000. He was one of only eight
reporters to attend each of the first 34 Super Bowls. |
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