Ceremony honors new members, student journalists

From left, Gerry Lanosga, Mark Monteith, Sue Morrow, David Haugh, Alice Jackson and Davida Jackson-Toe accepted honors at the luncheon.

Five new members joined the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in a ceremony Oct. 3 in downtown Indianapolis.

The late Angelo Angelopolous, a longtime sportswriter; David Haugh, who has worked in print and broadcast covering sports; Gerry Lanosga, award-winning investigative reporter; visual editor Sue Morrow; and the late Mary B. Tandy, newspaper publisher, are the newest members of the hall of fame. 

This ceremony, the Indiana Journalism Legacy Luncheon, featured a new partnership with the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation, which annually conducts the Keating Competition for college journalists. The 10 finalists were on hand at the luncheon for recognition before the competition that evening, where each was given a reporting assignment to complete in real time. 

Both Michael Sanserino, president of IPCF, and Steve Key, president of IJHF, welcomed the attendees by honoring both the journalists of tomorrow and those whose careers have merited their entry into the hall of fame. 

“We hope both groups serve as a reminder that Indiana journalism is strong,” said Sanserino. “The legacy of those being inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame today continues. It's alive in every newsroom that still knocks on doors and asks the follow-up question when the first answer doesn't add up.

“That legacy has a future too, and you'll see it today in our Keating finalists, 10 students who will head out on a deadline reporting assignment to tell the stories of Central Indiana.”

Biographic videos introduced each new IJHF member, then members or representatives accepted their awards.

Indianapolis sportswriter Mark Monteith accepted the award for Angelopolous, who covered events both global and local. He made a national name for himself before his death in 1962.

“I became aware of him on microfilm while researching Indianapolis basketball teams,” he said. “His writing was so good, so much better than others of the time, so graceful. And he knew all the angles of a good story.”

Monteith discovered that Angelopolous had written a book about Indianapolis 500 champ Bill Vukovich, who died chasing his third Indy victory. Angelopolous, who had befriended Vukovich, covered the driver’s death on deadline.

Monteith isn’t sure why the book was never published, but he published it himself in honor of the writer he admired and brought into the spotlight. “Vukovich: The Man Who Wouldn’t Lift,” was published in 2024.

David Haugh marveled at his trajectory from North Judson, Indiana, to his spot at the top of Chicago’s sports radio market. He recounted challenges during his years at the South Bend Tribune, where he covered Notre Dame sports, and at the Chicago Tribune, where he covered pro sports.

Today, he is part of Chicago’s Mully & Haugh morning show, named the best by the Illinois Association of Broadcasters last year.

Haugh said the secret of his success is no secret at all.

“You need talent, determination and good people around you,” he said to the Keating students in the audience, citing the people throughout his career who have offered opportunities. “Take advantage of what’s in front of you, but be prepared to deliver.”

Investigative reporter and Indiana University professor Gerry Lanosga said what led to his landing in the hall of fame was “standing on the shoulders of giants,” including his parents, his high school journalism teacher, and fellow hall of famers the late Skip Hess of the Indianapolis News and Kathleen Johnston, his colleague at the IU Media School.

He and Johnston collaborated first at the Indianapolis Star and later at WTHR-TV as investigative journalists, uncovering misuse of campaign funds, government malfeasance and nonworking tornado alarms. He also pioneered data reporting, using databases and records to inform investigations.

Today, as a researcher and professor, Lanosga said he sees students producing great journalism. He acknowledged that “general resignation about the state of the world has led to news avoidance, but this is also the time to double down on journalistic accountability.”

Visual editor Sue Morrow worked at the San Jose Mercury News, Tampa Bay Times, Sacramento Bee, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Boston Globe. Along the way, she won numerous awards for her work and edited photo books and periodicals. She remains active in teaching and coaching photojournalists.

Morrow thanked many in the audience and those from her past who served as mentors or supporters, a role she now fills as a professor at Ohio University and as a teacher at photography workshops. She charged the students in the audience to “stay the course, and speak truth to power.”

Davida Jackson-Toe and Alice Jackson, granddaughter and daughter of Mary B. Tandy, accepted the award on behalf of Tandy, who died in 2020. Upon the death of her husband, publisher of The Indiana Herald, Tandy became one of few Black women to own, publish and edit a metro newspaper.

The newspaper largely served the city’s Black communities, and Tandy made sure it covered issues but also celebrated the good news.

Jackson-Toe, who developed her own journalism career and was the first Black news producer at KWQC-TV in Davenport, Iowa, said she learned much about journalism, commitment and community as she worked with her grandmother from an early age.

“My grandmother didn’t just run the newspaper, she transformed it,” she said. “She recognized the importance of multicultural newspapers and perspectives. She knew the community deserved to see itself in the news coverage of the day.”

The Keating Competition finalists represented four Indiana journalism programs.

The Keating finalists were introduced throughout the program. They were Emerson Elledge of IU; Ollie Fitzgerald of Butler University; Maria Eduarda Grill of University of Notre Dame; Dorothy Lakshmanamurthy of Butler; Lydia Loglisci of IU; Chloe Oden of IU; Olivia O’Neal of Franklin College; Gabby Rogers of IU; Luke Shepherd of Franklin; and Savannah Shotwell of Franklin. The IPCF announced the following day that Lakshmanamurthy won first place, Loglisci was second and Rogers third.

More:

Read about these and other members of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.

Learn more about the Keating Competition and the IPCF. Read the Keating Competition winners’ work.

Nominate a journalist for induction into the IJHF. Deadline is March 1, 2027.