The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is a constituent college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. Established in 1915, Grady College offers undergraduate degrees in journalism, advertising, public relations, and entertainment and media studies, along with master’s and doctoral programs of study. Grady has consistently been ranked among the top schools of journalism education and research in the U.S. It is home to several prominent centers and institutes, including the Peabody Awards, recognized as one of the most prestigious awards in electronic journalism, the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research, New Media Institute and National Press Photographers Association.
History
In 1915, Grady was founded as a school of journalism by Steadman Vincent Sanford, a young professor who later as president (1932-35) and chancellor (1935-45) of the University System of Georgia, was the architect of the modern University of Georgia. Classes were first held in the Academic Building near the university's iconic Arch just off Broad Street. Early courses included newspaper reporting and correspondence, editorial writing, history and principles of journalism, psychology of business procedure and newspaper advertising. In 1921, the school's name was changed to the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism in honor of university alumnus Henry W. Grady, an Athens native who served as part-owner and managing editor of the Atlanta Constitution in the 1880s.
Grady's first graduate, in 1921, Lamar Trotti, became a producer of major motion pictures for 20th Century Fox. He received an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay in 1945 for Wilson. The second graduate, in 1922, John Eldridge Drewry, became the school's longest serving director and dean (1932-69), and created a national reputation for the school. In 1940, Drewry established the George Foster Peabody Awards to address the fact that Columbia University, home of the Pulitzer Prize, did not accept radio broadcast entries. By 1929, enrollment at Grady, which moved into the Commerce-Journalism Building the previous year, was nearly 70 students, including 20 women who graduated with bachelor's degrees in journalism. A master's degree program was authorized in 1938.
In 1961, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, along with Hamilton E. Holmes, became the first two African-American students to desegregate the University of Georgia. A 1963 Grady graduate, Hunter-Gault went on to a notable career in multimedia news reporting. The current Journalism Building located just south of the university's historic North Campus was dedicated in 1969. A doctoral program was established in 1983. Two years later, the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research began operations and has since conducted hundreds of training programs involving countries across the world, and published numerous research and technical reports. The New Media Institute was founded in 2000 to explore the creative, critical and commercial implications of emerging digital communication technologies. In 2015, the National Press Photographers Association moved its headquarters to Grady.
Academics
Grady comprises three academic departments: journalism, advertising and public relations, and entertainment and media studies. Admission to the undergraduate program is selective and open to students who have completed their sophomore year. The college provides instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels in a range of subject areas including public relations, advertising, broadcast and multimedia journalism, photojournalism, new media, communication, publication management, media innovation and entrepreneurship, and screenwriting.
Since 1968, Grady students have helped produce UGAzine, a lifestyle magazine that is self-sustaining through advertising revenue. Many students also work on the award-winning, independent student newspaper, The Red and Black, and its lifestyle publication, Ampersand Magazine, as well as the student-operated WUOG, a radio station broadcasting to Athens and surrounding areas.
Research programs
Grady houses the following centers, institutes and affiliates for research and education:
- George Foster Peabody Awards
- Peabody Media Center
- James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research
- James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership
- New Media Institute
- Center for Health and Risk Communication
- National Press Photographers Association
- Georgia Scholastic Press Association
Peabody Awards
In 1938, leaders of the National Association of Broadcasters asked Lambdin Kay, WSB station manager in Atlanta, to create an award for excellence in broadcasting. He turned to Drewy, Grady's dean, for sponsorship. The result was the creation in 1940 of the George Foster Peabody Awards, named after a benefactor to the University of Georgia. The next year, the Peabody Awards were first presented to six distinguished radio winners at the Commodore Hotel in New York City. Grady has since administered the award to recognize outstanding achievements in radio, television and digital media.
More than a thousand submissions are judged annually by the Peabody Board of Jurors, made up of respected media professionals, media scholars, critics and journalists. The board meets at least three times, with the final viewing and discussion session held at the university. To win a Peabody in one of about 30 categories, ranging from news, entertainment and public service to documentary, children’s and web/interactive programming, a program must receive the unanimous approval of all board members. Past Peabody winners include Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters, BBC, 60 Minutes and Al Jazeera.
Accreditation
Grady is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
Notable alumni
The following is a list of notable alumni in the fields of journalism, media and communication:
- Lamar Trotti (1922) - Oscar-winning motion picture producer
- Ernest Camp Jr. (1926) - founder of the Society of Professional Journalists
- Eugene Patterson (1943) - Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of Washington Post; St. Petersburg Times
- Edwin Pope (1948) - Miami Herald sports columnist
- Jack Avrett (1950) - founder of Avrett, Free & Ginsberg advertising agency; former chairman of the American Advertising Federation
- Gene Methvin (1955) - former senior editor at Reader’s Digest
- Donald A. Davis (1962) â€" New York Times best-selling author; former UPI correspondent
- Charlayne Hunter-Gault (1963) â€" Peabody Award and Emmy Award-winning reporter
- Tom Johnson (1963) - retired CNN chairman, president and CEO; retired Los Angeles Times president, publisher and CEO
- Harry Chapman (1967) â€" longtime WTVF news anchor in Nashville, Tennessee
- John Holliman (1970) â€" CNN war correspondent
- John Huey (1970) - columnist, editor-in-chief of Time Inc.
- Bill Hendrick (1971) â€" newspaper reporter, Associated Press and Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Brenda Hampton (1972) - creator and executive producer, 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager
- Randall Savage (1972) - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- Kathy Trocheck (1976) - aka Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times best-selling author
- Bonnie Arnold (1977) â€" film producer for Walt Disney Feature Animation, Pixar and DreamWorks Animation
- Deborah Blum (1977) - Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer
- Randy Jones (1977) - founder of Worth magazine; CEO of Capital Publishing Inc.
- Ed Grisamore (1978) â€" newspaper columnist, The Macon Telegraph; Will Rogers Humanitarian Award recipient
- Ernie Johnson Jr. (1978), sportscaster for Turner Sports and CBS Sports
- Doreen Gentzler (1979) â€" longtime WRC-TV news anchor in Washington, D.C.
- Deborah Norville (1979) â€" host of Inside Edition; former CBS News anchor; former Today co-host
- Steve Oney (1979) - author, former Atlanta Journal-Constitution Magazine staff writer and Nieman Fellow
- Martha Zoller (1979) â€" syndicated radio host, television personality and writer
- Deborah Roberts (1982) â€" ABC News television journalist
- Jackie Crosby (1983) - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- Lewis Grizzard (1984) - syndicated Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist, author and humorist
- Julie Moran (1984) - first female host of ABC's Wide World of Sports; former Entertainment Tonight host
- Chip Caray (1987) - sports broadcaster
- Mark B. Perry (1989) â€" Primetime Emmy Award-winning television producer and writer
- Josh Jackson (1994) â€" co-founder of Paste magazine
- Amy Robach (1995) - television journalist for ABC News, Good Morning America
- Ryan Seacrest (dropped out, honorary 2016) - host of American Idol and Live with Kelly and Ryan; radio personality; television producer
- Mark Schlabach (1997) - ESPN sportswriter
- Brooke Anderson (2000) â€" correspondent for Entertainment Tonight
- Mary Katharine Ham (2002) â€" CNN and Fox News Channel contributor
- Maria Taylor (2009) - sports journalist, ESPN and SEC Network
- Monica Pearson (2014) - longtime WSB-TV news anchor in Atlanta, Georgia
References
Literature
Clark, E. Culpepper. 2015. Centennial: A History of Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia. Mercer University Press.
External links
- Official website
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