Butler CCOM: Where Great Stories…Live

I raced against my father and four brothers to claim the sports section of the The Bergen Record every morning while growing up. Lifting it in the air, on successful days, like I had just captured the opposing team’s flag on the playground. The runner-up would happily settle for the feature stories, recaps, and scores from the New York Daily News, as the rest waited for the remaining second-hand scraps of knowledge. 

Whether it was those journalistic institutions, or as I grew older, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, one thing remained consistent. A connection between me and the men and women crafting the words and collecting the quotes and facts as they documented and explained day-to-day history. These storytellers became my earliest heroes and made a moment from earlier this summer that much more impactful. The College of Communication at Butler University was presented the opportunity to partner with the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame (IJHF), and I couldn’t be more honored for CCOM.

This hot scoop came from Steve Key ’77, the retired Executive Director of the Hoosier Press Association and a member of the CCOM Dean’s Advisory Board. He shared that the IJHF was looking for a new home and asked if Butler and CCOM would have interest in hosting their mission-driven operation to honor women and men whose lives and careers make them standouts among Hoosier journalists. I didn’t skip a beat in saying “we sure would!” and our meetings commenced.  

IJHF leaders Stephanie Salter, president, and Larry Taylor, executive director, met me on campus two weeks later at Chatham Tap. We discussed Butler’s history of producing quality journalists, and CCOM’s mission to educate the next era of journalists for more than an hour. As a recently transplanted Indiana resident I wasn’t previously aware of the long and storied history of journalists from the Hoosier state. The IJHF celebrates more than 250 inducted members and maintains an archive of their work. As Stephanie and Larry shared more details and anecdotes it was apparent that Butler, CCOM and the IJHF were a tremendous fit. 

Eventually we did the final dance of “i” dotting and “t” crossing, reaching a late-summer agreement signing. CCOM is excited to welcome the IJHF to their new home in Fairbanks at Butler. It is a powerful step having the archives of the Hall available to faculty and students but there are more inherent benefits. 

Their annual IJHF induction ceremony will have connections to student work, which may also include video interviews and productions for the members. We will also partner internally with students, faculty, and staff to develop more meaningful ways to help celebrate, study and promote the work of Indiana’s finest journalists and media innovators—those already inducted and the active media members who make up incoming classes. To me, this is one of the best aspects of the IJHF. Of course they celebrate journalists from the past, but the process of inducting active, working journalists into their annals brings a special energy while recognizing the leaders of this critical profession.  

As the IJHF settles into its new address in Fairbanks, we will continue to explore ways to connect our students with its members and its resources, further cementing the strength of the Pulliam School of Journalism and Creative Media and what it offers to the journalists of tomorrow.

Our CCOM student-focused tagline is “great stories begin here.” Now we can also say great storytellers are recognized and their work lives here, thanks to this partnership with the IJHF. And it’s downstairs from my office so I don’t need to race family members down there to get the information that I’m eager to read.

For more information on IJHF moving to Butler please visit Butler Stories and the official website of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.