IJHF welcomes five new members
From left, Monte Hayes, Anne Mullin O’Connor (McMeel Award), John Stehr, Kathleen Johnston and Milbert Brown Jr.
The five newest members of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame were honored for their contributions and careers during an induction ceremony Oct. 4 on the Butler University campus in Indianapolis.
Photojournalist Milbert Brown Jr., Associated Press foreign correspondent Monte Hayes, investigative reporter Kathleen Johnston, sportswriter Frederick Mitchell and broadcast anchor John Stehr received their honors before a crowd of about 80 at Butler’s Atherton Union.
“We are pleased to welcome the 58th class of inductees, who join nearly 300 from across many decades who have made their marks on journalism in Indiana and beyond,” said Larry Taylor, executive director of the hall of fame.
The program included short bio videos of each inductee, followed by short speeches. IJHF board president Stephanie Salter then presented the awards.
As a Chicago Tribune photojournalist and picture editor, Milbert Brown Jr. won a Pulitzer Prize as part of a team for “Gateway to Gridlock.” He went on to cover the first all-race election and inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994, the Baltimore riots, the presidential campaign of Barack Obama and numerous sports championships.
In his address, Brown lauded his parents and family members, who supported his pursuits and his dreams, and counseled new journalists to “bathe in the flames of preparation.”
Monte Hayes joined the Associated Press in the 1970s, reporting from Caracas, Venezuela, Mexico City and Lima, Peru, as well as serving as foreign bureau chief in several areas and the AP World Desk in New York. He traveled deep into jungles and into rebel camps to get his scoops.
But it was fellow Hoosier and World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle who influenced Hayes. He cited Pyle’s ability to talk to everyone, from global leaders to soldiers in the field, as a method he wanted to emulate.
“His work taught me that everyone has a story,” said Hayes, who carried Pyle’s Home County with him all over South America as his bible.
Gary native Kathleen Johnston set her sights on newspaper reporting as a sixth grader, and her dream led her to a career in investigative journalism, first in print and later in broadcast. Her work exposed corruption, graft and cheating in some of the highest government and public offices.
“Shining a light on the public’s business became a mission,” she told her audience, which included many of her fellow journalists, reporting partners and colleagues. “If journalists don’t serve as witnesses, who will? I was privileged to do so.”
New member Frederick Mitchell is the only Chicago Tribune sportswriter to serve as the main beat reporter covering all three pro teams: Bulls, Cubs and Bears. He was the first African American sportswriter for the paper when he was hired in 1974. He was unable to attend in person, but he sent a short address via video. He recalled how his high school experience provided a great training ground.
“Juggling journalism as a three-sport athlete required time management skills that served me well in my career,” he said in the video.
Milbert Brown Jr. accepted his award from IJHF board president Stephanie Salter.
Longtime Indianapolis broadcast reporter and anchor John Stehr said journalism was not a choice but rather was the only option for him. As a youngster, he had a steady diet of Walter Cronkite every evening on the TV news.
“Even when I was too young to know a lot about what he was saying, I knew it was important, and that people listened,” said Stehr, now retired and in a second career as mayor of Zionsville, an Indianapolis suburb. “I knew I wanted to be that voice.”
This inspired a career that included covering global events and netting numerous honors. While several speakers addressed the precariousness of the journalism profession today, Stehr said events such as this banquet offer hope that journalism will persevere. “Truth and fairness will aways win in the end,” he said.
In addition to the five journalists, Anne Mullin O’Connor, the state’s first director of the Office of Public Access, received the John P. McMeel Distinguished Service to Journalism Award. Gov. Frank O’Bannon selected her as Indiana’s first public access counselor, serving from 1998 to 2003. Her office published the Handbook of Indiana’s Public Access Law, and she worked to include numerous provisions throughout the Indiana Code to assure the right of Hoosiers to view government bodies’ meetings or to inspect or copy the records of state and local government.
Executive director Taylor also thanked the hall’s partner, Butler University’s College of Communication, whose dean, Joe Valenzano, welcomed the attendees. The IJHF began collaborating with the school two years ago.
Taylor also thanked the Scripps Howard Foundation, which for 15 years has supported the IJHF with funding for the plaques each inductee receives and for the banquet itself.
“We are an all-volunteer board who values partnerships like these in order to fulfill our mission of honoring these high-achieving journalists,” Taylor said.
More:
Make a contribution to support the IJHF, a nonprofit independent organization.
Nominate a journalist for consideration in the 59th induction class in 2026. Deadline is March 1, 2026.
Meet our members: Scroll through bios of the nearly 300 journalists who make up our members.