Ohio University journalism school honors The Blade

2/14/2004

Ohio University s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism has honored The Blade as one of the state s leading newspapers in connection with the university s bicentennial celebration.

Officials presented The Blade with a certificate of appreciation Thursday, making it the first in a series of newspapers that will be recognized by the journalism school.

“Certainly The Blade was right at the top of our list because of the great investigative work it s done over the years,” said Thomas Hodson, director of the journalism school, who presented the award at a reception with Blade executives and faculty and staff of the school.

Recent examples he cited were The Blade s October series “Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths,” detailing the killing of Vietnamese civilians by American soldiers in 1967, and a December series analyzing how power and money intersect in the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Oxley (R., Findlay).

Mr. Hodson said The Blade has a history of being a government watchdog and leader in the fight for public records and open meetings. Particularly noteworthy, he said, was The Blade s 1992 court victory over the University of Toledo Foundation that opened certain state university foundation records to the public.

Mr. Hodson said: “As the powers that be in Columbus well know, The Blade has been a clear and eloquent voice for equitable development of all Ohio s regions. In the process, The Blade coined a phrase now forever part of the state s political lexicon - The Other Ohio. ”

John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Blade, accepted the award on behalf of the newspaper and the Block family.

“I can t tell you how moved I am,” Mr. Block said. “Ohio University truly is one of Ohio s real treasures. This is a great honor, and I look forward to continuing our professional relationship with Ohio University.”

Mr. Hodson said the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism decided to honor Ohio newspapers in conjunction with Ohio University s bicentennial this year. The [Cleveland] Plain Dealer will be honored next month and The Columbus Dispatch will follow in April.

As part of the recognition, the leaders of the various newspapers are invited to campus to interact with faculty and students.

“Whenever our students can talk with people who are prominent in the field of journalism and active in it on a daily basis, they benefit,” Mr. Hodson said.

The journalism school in Athens, Ohio, has 850 undergraduate students.