King Lecture brings outstanding speakers

The Journalism program brings a print journalist or photojournalist to campus each year for a public lecture. The lecture honors Edith Fox King. King, who taught journalism at the college from 1958 to 1968. Her impact on journalism education went beyond her position as adviser to The Ranger, founder of The Fourth Write magazine and mentor to scores of future journalists.

King advised The Ranger from 1958 to 1968 and started the campus magazine, The Fourth Write, in 1967. But she secretly helped advise student underground protest newspapers, the SAC Mouth, The Peasant and The Rubble in the '60s, English Professor John Igo said.

"The administration did not know Edith was operating out of her pocket as a guide and adviser," Igo said. Igo, who retired after 40 years at San Antonio College, said King helped not because she was a rabble-rouser but because she wanted the students to do things correctly.

"If they were going to do it, by dang, they better do it right," Igo recalled King saying.

King earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Her first teaching position at age 17 was in the Flatonia School District. She also was editor of the weekly Flatonia Argus.

She taught journalism at Brackenridge and Fox Tech high schools in San Antonio before assuming her position at SAC.

The annual lecture exposes journalism students to the top professionals in the United States. In addition, presentations are videotaped and used in mass communications and journalism writing courses. The videotapes also are available for use by community college journalism programs around the country.

Speakers since the lecture's beginning:

1978 Joe Murray, Editor, Lufkin News
PUBLIC SERVICE - For an obituary of a local man who died in Marine training camp, which grew into an investigation of that death and a fundamental reform in the recruiting and training practices of the U.S. Marine Corps.

1979 Myron Farber, Reporter, New York Times
Farber had been jailed for refusing to release information to a grand jury.

1980 David Mitchell, Publisher and Editor, Point Reyes (California) Light
PUBLIC SERVICE - For its investigation of Synanon.

1981 Peggy Simpson, Correspondent, Hearst Newspapers
Simpson graduated from Jefferson High School and was the highest ranking woman columnist with Hearst.

1982 Ben Sargent, Editorial Cartoonist, Austin American-Statesman
EDITORIAL CARTOONING - For biting satirical images of the famous and infamous in the world.

1983 Cliff Treyens, Reporter, The Clarion-Leader, Jackson, Miss.
PUBLIC SERVICE - For a successful campaign supporting Gov. Winter in his legislative battle for reform of Mississippi's public education system.

1984 Frank Sotomayor, Assistant Metro Editor, The Los Angeles Times
PUBLIC SERVICE - For an in-depth examination of southern California's growing Latino community.

1985 Mark Thompson, Reporter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
PUBLIC SERVICE - For reporting which revealed that nearly 250 U.S. servicemen had lost their lives as a result of a design problem in helicopters built by Bell Helicopter.

1986 George Rodrigue, Reporter, The Dallas Morning News
NATIONAL REPORTING - For their investigation into subsidized housing in East Texas, which uncovered patterns of racial discrimination and segregation in public housing across the United States and led to significant reforms.

1987 Joe Holley, Editorial Page Editor, San Diego Union
Holley edited the Pulitzer-winning editorials this year.

1988 Scott Shaw, Photographer, Odessa American
SPOT NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY - For his photograph of Jessica McClure being rescued from the well into which she had fallen.

1989 David Hanners, Reporter, The Dallas Morning News
EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM - For their special report on a 1985 airplane crash, the follow-up investigation and the implications for air safety.

1990 Geri Migielicz, Photographer, San Jose Mercury News
GENERAL NEWS REPORTING - For its detailed coverage of the Oct. 17, 1989 Bay Area earthquake and its aftermath.

1991 Jane Schorer, Reporter, Des Moines Register
PUBLIC SERVICE - For reporting that, with the victim's consent, named a woman who had been raped. This prompted widespread reconsideration of the traditional media practice of concealing the identity of rape victims.

1992 Dan Malone, Reporter, The Dallas Morning News
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING - For reporting that charged Texas police with extensive misconduct and abuses of power.

1993 Joel Sappell, Assistant City Editor, The Los Angeles Times
SPOT NEWS REPORTING - For balanced, comprehensive, penetrating coverage under deadline pressure of the second most destructive day of the Los Angeles riots.

1994 Griff Palmer , Database Editor, The Daily Oklahoman
Palmer was among the first reporters on the scene at the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Building.

1995 Patricia Gaston, Assistant International Editor, Dallas Morning News
INTERNATIONAL REPORTING - Dallas Morning News Team - For its series examining the epidemic of violence against women in many nations.

1996 Susan Kelleher, Medical Reporter, Orange County Register,
worked an investigative reporter at The Orange County Register in Santa Ana, CA, where she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for investigative reporting as part of a team that uncovered fraudulent and unethical fertility practices.

1997 Ron Cortes, Photographer, Philadelphia Inquirer, of The Philadelphia Inquirer for a series on the choices that confronted critically-ill patients who sought to die with dignity.

1998 Clarence Williams III, Photographer, Los Angeles Times, for his powerful images documenting the plight of young children with parents addicted to alcohol and drugs.

1999 Ed Trout, Assistant Publisher, The Jonesboro (Arkansas) Sun For its aggressive yet responsible coverage of a shooting at a local middle school in which two boys killed a teacher and four classmates and wounded 10 others.

2000 Rodolfo Gonzalez, Photojournalist, Denver Rocky Mountain News For a powerful collection of emotional images taken after the student shootings at Columbine High School.

2001 Brent Walth, Investigative Reporter, The (Portland) Oregonian shared the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

2002 Scott McCartney, Travel Editor, The Wall Street Journal, told of his newspaper's heroic effort to publish a newspaper on Sept. 12, 2001.  The Wall Street Journal received the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News.

2003 Don Bartletti, Photojournalist, Los Angeles Times won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his portrayal of how undocumented Central American youth, often facing dangers, travel north to the United States. He worked with Sonia Nazario on a six-part series titled "Enrique's Journey."

2004 David Leeson, Photojournalist, Dallas Morning News for eloquent photographs depicting both the violence and poignancy of the war with Iraq.

2005 Ted Jackson, Photojournalist, the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune, While the human and material loss from Hurricane Katrina was great, the psychological damage sustained far outweighs the value of material items swept away by the unforgiving flood waters, a photojournalist from New Orleans said at the 29th lecture.

Pulitzer Prize winner of the Times-Picayune in New Orleans spoke in the visual arts center about the aftermath of an event that forever changed the history of America. (Photo for The Ranger by D.A. James)

2006 Ted Jackson, Photojournalist, the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune

2008 Photojournalist Cynthia Esparza, a staff photographer of the San Angelo Standard-Times, delivered the 31st annual Edith Fox King Journalism Lecture May 1 in the visual arts center of San Antonio College.

She became the third former student — Ron Cortes and Rodolfo Gonzalez were the other two — to deliver the lecture.

2009 - Galveston County News reporter Leigh Jones presented "Covering Ike 140 Characters at a Time" at the 32nd annual Edith Fox King Journalism Lecture April 7 in the visual arts center.

Jones described the harrowing experience of covering Hurricane Ike, the worst natural disaster in Texas since the storm of 1900, to journalism students and faculty.  The storm of 1900 was the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

2010 - Seattle Times staff used e-mail, Facebook and Twitter to exchange information and keep readers informed during 60 straight hours of reporting on the shooting deaths of four police officers last fall.

Staff members used cell phones to send text messages, photos and videos to the newsroom for print and online editions.


Joe Ruiz, associate producer for news at SeattleTimes.com, said news staffers worked continuously during the hunt for the suspect.

“We spent all day getting news tips, writing up whatever we could,” he said. “We had someone doing online for at least 60 hours during that time.”
That coverage led to the Times’ news team winning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News reporting.

Ruiz described media convergence, which incorporates a variety of technology into news reporting, during the 33rd Edith Fox King Journalism Lecture sponsored by the journalism program in the department of media communications at this college. The student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists co-sponsored the event.

About 25 students, faculty and staff gathered in Longwith Radio, Television and Film Building to hear Ruiz outline the various ways the Seattle Times communicated to the public during the manhunt for the suspect.

Read the story here

2012 - Journalism is a career where one can do something positive, make a difference and engage in public service, the Pulitzer-Prize winning editor of the San Antonio Express-News told more than 100 high school and college journalism students Oct. 5.

Mike Leary presented the 34th annual Edith Fox King Journalism Lecture sponsored by this college’s journalism program in visual arts. His talk was part of Charting Your Course, a workshop that drew students and teachers from seven local high schools.


The lecture was part of the annual Newspaper Week observance sponsored by the journalism program and the student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Other activities included a workshop for San Antonio area high school students.