Bill Moyers
University of Texas-Austin
Bill Moyers began his journalism career at 16 as a cub reporter for the Marshall News Messenger. He wrote for The Daily Texan at UT-Austin and received a degree in journalism in 1956. He established Public Affairs Television in 1986 and has received more than 30 Emmy Awards for excellence. He was LBJ’s press secretary (1963-1967) and a readers’ survey named him “the best White House press secretary of all time.” He was publisher of Newsday and was honored by the National Endowment for the Humanities “for outstanding contributions to American cultural life.”
Charles Marler
Abilene Christian University
A professor, director of internships and graduate studies and faculty adviser to the Society of Professional Journalists Chapter at Abilene Christian University, Charlie Marler has worn a variety of hats at ACU. He has been publicity assistant, sports information director, development assistant, director of information and publications, professor of journalism and chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications. He has received numerous state and national awards.
Dorothy Estes
University of Texas-Arlington
During her 49 years in student publications, Dorothy Estes mentored hundreds of young journalists and dozens of journalism educators. Her student publications won every national and state award given for college journalism, often more than once. She was involved with TIPA since 1967, organized the first live competition in 1971 and was twice named TIPA Adviser of the Year. Her first teaching job was at Marshall Junior High where her editor of the student newspaper was Bill Moyers. In 1996 she received a Commendation for Outstanding Service to Academic Journalism on the floor of the Texas State Senate. She retired from UT-Arlington in 1996.
Oveta Culp Hobby
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
After Oveta Culp Hobby graduated from Mary Hardin-Baylor, she became parliamentarian for the Texas House of Representatives. In 1931, she married William P. Hobby, former Governor of Texas and publisher of the Houston Post. She helped her husband at the Post until 1941. She was director of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp (1942-1945) and received the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1953 she was named head of the Federal Security Agency by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Walter Cronkite
University of Texas-Austin
Walter Cronkite worked at The Daily Texan at UT-Austin and the Houston Post. He went into broadcasting and during World War II covered the European theater for United Press. After the war, he was chief United Press correspondent at the Nuremberg trials. He joined CBS News in 1950, worked on a variety of programs and covered national political conventions and elections from 1952-1981. His nightly signoff “and that’s the way it is,” was his trademark. The public’s perception of him as honest, objective and levelheaded led to his popular title as “The Most Trusted Man in America.”