New beginnings

Department of Journalism is established.

Professor Joseph Piercy is appointed the first director of the Department of Journalism.

The make-up room in 1915

Department of Journalism takes ownership of The Daily Student, which was founded in 1867 by students and is the university’s longest-running student paper.

Don Herold, BA’13, is named editor of the Arbutus. Herold became a famous author and humorist whose best-known work is the poem, “I’d Pick More Daisies,” published in the October 1953 issue of Reader’s Digest.

Paul V. McNutt, BA’13, is named editor of The Indiana Student. McNutt was governor of Indiana from 1933 to 1937.

Arbutus yearbook, 1918

Theta Sigma Phi women’s professional journalism honorary society is established.

Arbutus yearbook, 1918

Press Club becomes Sigma Delta Chi, the men’s professional journalism honorary society.

Department starts a Master of Arts program.

The early years

Staff of  The Indiana Daily Student outside the Indiana building at the State Fair in 1923.

First Indiana State Fair Edition of The Indiana Daily Student is published. Ernie Pyle was the founding editor.

Ernie Pyle, John E. Stempel and Nelson Poynter were three desk editors of The Indiana Daily Student who went on to distinguished careers.

Ernest “Ernie” Taylor Pyle
City editor 1922, first semester

Pyle became a famous war correspondent during World War II.

John E. Stempel
News editor 1922, second semester

Stempel became the second leader of the Department of Journalism in 1938.

Nelson Poynter
City editor 1922, second semester

Poynter became publisher of the St. Petersburg Times and founder of the Poynter Institute.

Don Mellett, BA’14, is assassinated because of his editorial campaign against crime in Canton, Ohio, where he was editor-in-chief of the Canton Daily News.

Mellett’s paper wins the Pulitzer Prize for public service for its “brave, patriotic and effective fight” against corrupt city officials.

John W. Hill, former journalism student, starts a public relations office that will become Hill & Knowlton, one of the largest PR companies in the world.

John W. Hill

Changing leadership

The Indiana Memorial Union opens. In 1935, the Sigma Delta Chi room at the IMU is rededicated as the Don Mellett Memorial Den.

For the first time, a bachelor’s degree in journalism is available at IU.

Charter members launch the IU chapter of Alpha Delta Sigma, the national professional advertising fraternity.

Naomi Osborne graduates with a master’s degree in journalism. Osborne became one of the first administrators for the United Nations and later an executive staff member.

Herman B Wells, BS’24, is named acting president. Wells was a reporter for The Indiana Daily Student in 1922.

Miriam Meloy Sturgeon, BA’38, MA’40, is on the staff of The Indiana Daily Student State Fair Edition. Sturgeon became the national president of Theta Sigma Phi (1961-1963) and one of the lead fundraisers for the remodeling of Ernie Pyle Hall.

Herman B Wells is inaugurated as IU's 11th president.

John E. Stempel, BA’23, begins his 30-year tenure as the second leader of the Department of Journalism.

Entering the war

Pearl Harbor extra edition of The Indiana Daily Student hits the streets on Dec. 7.

The Indiana Daily Student newsroom in the old power plant, 1945.

During World War II, The Indiana Daily Student has 13 consecutive female editors.

Ernie Pyle receives the Pulitzer Prize for his distinguished war correspondence.

Ernie Pyle wrote columns from the perspective of soldiers, whom he befriended by sharing meals and conversation. Here, he and the troops take a break during a march on Okinawa.

Herman B Wells awards Ernie Pyle an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters.

Ernie Pyle is killed on Ie, a small island off Okinawa Island in the Pacific Ocean.

First Ernie Pyle Scholarships are given to journalism students who are WWII veterans.

Professor and director of HSJI Gretchen Kemp, standing, works with high school students on The Indiana Daily Student copy desk in the early 1950s.

High School Journalism Institute begins.

Gretchen Kemp succeeded John Stempel as director of HSJI. She guided the growth of the program for the next 25 years.

A new home

In January 1948, a government surplus Quonset hut became the newsroom of  The Indiana Daily Student.

“The Shack,” a World War II Quonset hut, finally falls apart as The Indiana Daily Student staff prepares for a new home in Ernie Pyle Hall.

Freestanding Ernie Pyle plaque by the entrance to Ernie Pyle Hall is dedicated as a Sigma Delta Chi historic site.

Students help move materials into the newly remodeled Ernie Pyle Hall, including placing photos in the glass cases in the lounge.

Department of Journalism, The Indiana Daily Student, Arbutus and IU Printing Plant move into remodeled Ernie Pyle Hall.

Department hires Richard Yoakam as its first broadcast journalism instructor.

Thriving academics

The goal of the U.S. Department of State-funded project is to introduce foreign journalists to American life and press customs. Professor Floyd Arpan brought the program with him when he came to IU from Northwestern University. (Photo taken in 1961.)

Multi-National Foreign Journalists Project takes up residence at IU.

In this photo from 1963 are three who would serve at editors of  The Indiana Daily Student. From left are Tom Green, BA’64, then chief editorial writer; Myrna Oliver, BA’64, seated, who was spring semester editor-in-chief; and Lynn McQuern, BA’65, then managing editor.

Myrna Oliver, BA’64, is named editor of the Arbutus and, the next year, editor of The Indiana Daily Student.

Ph.D. in Mass Communications is first offered.

Gene Miller shares a cake with his fellow staffers at the Miami Herald in celebration of his Pulitzer Prize. Miller’s second Pulitzer was awarded in 1976 for reporting that led to two more murder conviction reversals.

Gene Miller, BA’50, of the Miami Herald, wins his first Pulitzer Prize for reporting that led to two murder conviction reversals.

Centennial edition, Feb. 22, 1967

The Indiana Daily Student celebrates its centennial

John Stempel retires; Richard Gray becomes the third head of the Department of Journalism.

The Indiana Daily Student is established as an independently managed paper, and Jack Backer becomes its first full-time publisher.

Forging ahead

Old Delta Zeta House

Ernie Pyle Hall is closed for renovation. Students, faculty and The Indiana Daily Student operations move into the old Delta Zeta house across Seventh Street.

Department of Journalism becomes the School of Journalism within the College of Arts & Sciences.

James Polk, BA’64, staff writer for the Washington Star-News, wins a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the 1972 financial irregularities that were part of the Watergate scandal.

Gretchen Kemp retires; Mary Benedict becomes the second full-time director of the High School Journalism Institute.

Paul Tash was named a Poynter Scholar for 1975-76, for which he was awarded a scholarship and an internship at the St. Petersburg Times. Tash is shown with Robert Haiman, managing editor of the Times.

Paul Tash, BA’76, is chosen as a Marshall Scholar in a national competition. Tash became the editor of the St. Petersburg Times and CEO of the paper’s parent organization, Times Publishing Company.

Student publications mourn the loss of publisher Jack Backer, who died of cancer at age 41.

On the left is an example of one of the first word processors at  The Indiana Daily Student. Above is an upgraded model from the early 1980s.

School of Journalism adds first computers to Ernie Pyle Hall.

Pat Siddons, BA’50, is named publisher of The Indiana Daily Student and the Arbutus.

Journalism excellence

G. Cleveland Wilhoit and David H. Weaver conduct their survey study on the demographics of American journalists with follow-up studies in 1992, 2002 and 2007. These studies set the worldwide benchmark for this area of research.

Journalism becomes a systemwide school within the College of Arts & Sciences. It becomes an independent school within the IU system in 1986.

At right, Barbara Toman leads an  Indiana Daily Student critique.

Barbara Toman, BA’83, is chosen as the first female Rhodes Scholar from Indiana University.

Dean Richard Gray dies. Trevor Brown becomes interim dean. In 1985, he is chosen to fill the spot permanently.

School of Journalism expands to offer a degree at IUPUI.

In 1985, three photojournalism alumni met while covering a volcano disaster in Colombia, South America. From left, Kathy Anderson, BA’80; Michel du Cille, BA’85; and Jim Mendenhall, BA’78.

Michel du Cille, BA’85, of the Miami Herald, wins his first Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism for his coverage of the November 1985 eruption of Colombia’s Nevado Del Ruiz volcano.

Mary Benedict retires; Jack Dvorak becomes the director of the High School Journalism Institute.

Pat Siddon retires; Dave Adams is named publisher of student media.

Expanding media

Shannon Hori, BAJ’94, and Michael Lerman, BAJ’94, prepare to anchor News Forum, a program produced by journalism and telecommunications students.

First WTIU News Forum student broadcast hits airwaves.

Alumni and friends celebrate Will Counts’ retirement.

The Indiana Daily Student becomes a free publication again. It had been sold on news stands since 1981.

Frances Wilhoit was Head of the Weil Journalism Library since 1975 and an assistant professor until her retirement in 1998.

Frances Wilhoit receives the AEJMC Eleanor Blum Distinguished Service to Research Award. A year later she received the 1997 William Evans Jenkins Award, which is the top award that an IU librarian can receive.

Indiana Daily Student goes online.

High School Journalism Institute celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Thomas French, BA'81, of the St. Petersburg Times, wins the Pulitzer Prize for his feature writing project, “Angels & Demons.”

The Indiana Daily Student offices are stripped of all furniture and remodeled for a more efficient and up-to-date use of the space. Taking advantage of the impending remodeling, students graffiti the walls.

The Indiana Daily Student receives a major face lift.

A new millennium

Scripps Howard Foundation funds Digital Imaging Lab.

Students create IU Student Television (IUSTV).

Trevor Brown retires; Brad Hamm is named dean and becomes the fifth leader of the School of Journalism.

The Ernie Pyle Scholars visit the St. Petersburg Times in 2008.

Honors Program: Ernie Pyle Scholars is developed.

Students in the travel class, From London to Paris: In the Footsteps of Ernie Pyle, at Mont Saint-Michel on the coast of France

School launches its Journalism Experiences travel courses.

School of Journalism launches its Speaker Series.

Student media director and publisher David Adams dies; Nancy Comiskey becomes interim director and publisher.

Ron Johnson is named director and publisher of student media.

Jack Dvorak retires; Teresa White becomes the director of High School Journalism Institute.

Century of Journalism

The school announces changes in the master's degree program to include four new sequences: digital journalism, political journalism, science and health journalism, and global journalism.

The year marks 100 years of journalism at IU. The school observes the occasion with a series of events and celebrations.