Dirk Milliman said the next crop of Journalism Hall of Fame inductees
will be much larger than the six 2004 inductees.

Milliman, chair of the hall of fame committee, said there are too
many great journalism graduates to narrow down to a small field of
inductees each year.

However, six of CMU’s finest were honored in a three-hour event
Friday night at the Comfort Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 2424 S.
Mission St. A catered dinner preceded the event, which saw more than
100 alumni and students turn out to hear the six alumni speak.

“It’s great to be able to honor these people’s contributions to the
university and the journalism department,” Milliman said.

Former Central Michigan Life Adviser Russell Herron was the first
honoree of the night. Director of Student Media Neil Hopp introduced
Herron, who died of surgical complications in 1999.

Herron worked for CMU for 39 years, many of which were spent with
the journalism department. Herron spent several years as a journalism
faculty member and was a CM Life Adviser for 10 years.

Herron spoke out about many administrative issues prior to his
departure from CMU. He was asked to step down in 1999 by then-president
Leonard Plachta. Hopp said Herron’s presence still can be felt on the
campus.

Hopp said Herron was a staunch supporter of student media. He spoke
of the troubling times in the wake of the Vietnam War, a tough time for
journalism and the strength offered by Herron at the time.

Herron offered strength with his “aggressive, stand-your-ground
reporting,” Hopp said. He said Herron was stalwart in his lifelong
fight for principle, which strengthened his students’ and peers’
resolve.

Neal Miller was next to be inducted. Jim Hough, who was inducted
into the hall of fame last year, said he was embarrassed to have been
inducted before Miller.

When nominating Miller for the induction, Hough said officials in
Miller’s community were asked to write letters on his behalf. The
responses all spoke of Miller’s hard-hitting journalism with community
sensitivity.

Miller, the first journalism major at CMU, was the first to graduate
from the journalism department and holds the longest run as CM Life
editor.

Miller spoke of the trials he faced as a small town journalist,
having to see the people he wrote about every time he went out. He said
small-town journalism is not as easy as it may seem and recounted
stories about a bomb being found under his car and his life being
threatened several times.

“As dust covers the pictures in the Journalism Hall of Fame, I just
hope my news coverage was honest and complete, and I hope I will be
remembered for that,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, Miller gave many examples of how the First
Amendment to the Constitution has been unfairly restricted.

“I have the right to speak my mind and you have the right to find me
rude, crude and boorish,” he said.

Lori Lynch, a CMU alum working for U.S.A. Weekend, introduced
Suzanne Nichols. Lynch said Nichols was an inspiration to female
journalists at CMU. Nichols was the first woman Lynch knew that could
successfully hold a full-time job and raise a “family that obviously
loved” her.

Lynch said Nichols was a tough teacher, but she knows her goal was
reached – her students left her classes expecting more from themselves.
When Nichols told a student their story was good, that really meant
something.

“Sue was always surrounded by students outside the CM Life office,”
Lynch said. “She brought the Sue Nichols standard out into the world.”

Nichols said she is very proud of her former students’ success,
which is proof that she did her job well.

“I’m doing all this table hopping and hearing about all your
accomplishments,” she said. “I don’t feel I’m one who deserves to be up
here.”

Associate Journalism Professor Jim Wojcik introduced Sandy
Petykiewicz by saying if not the best copy editor CM Life had, she was
“darn close to it.”

Petykiewicz, publisher of the Jackson Citizen Patriot, can best be
described by her passion for journalism, which has allowed her to
achieve the success she’s experienced in her career, Wojcik said.

“We talk about the glass ceiling,” he said. “She broke the newspaper
ceiling … at the tender age of 34.”

Petykiewicz became Jackson Citizen Patriot’s first female editor in
1987 and was named publisher in 1999.

She said she came to CMU in 1971 amid an unpopular Vietnam War and
the continued fight for civil rights and women’s rights.

When the Watergate scandal broke in 1972, she saw firsthand the
impact journalism could have and became inspired to write.

“I am humbled being in the company of the other recipients here
tonight, as well as those who preceded me,” she said. “One thing I know
is I wouldn’t have been successful without the support of the people
around me.”

Maria Marron, journalism department chairwoman, spoke highly of
inductee Guido Stempel III, who helped form the department as a faculty
member from 1957 to 1965.

“What a guy,” Marron said of Stempel, who she said broke the
barriers of research as a young scholar and bridged the gap between
researchers and journalism practitioners.

Stempel has written more than 150 research articles and served as
editor of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly for 17 years.

“This event brings back a lot of memories,” Stempel said. “I am
proud to see the progress this school has made over the years.”

Nichols introduced inductee James Wieghart, who was not in
attendance because he had a pacemaker installed earlier in the day.

Nichols said she met Wieghart 50 years ago at Keeler Union, which
today is Powers Hall. She would often go there on her coffee breaks
from the “sheepsheds” that used to house CM Life before its move to
Anspach Hall.

Wieghart, a Korean War veteran, spoke passionately about real world
happenings, Nichols said.

“He brought the world view to this conservative teacher’s college,”
she said.

Sharon Wieghart accepted the honor on her husband’s behalf.

“This validates everything he’s done all along and I wanted him to
have this honor,” she said.

Sharon said it took a while for her husband to find a rewarding job
in journalism. After spending nine months writing obituaries for the
Milwaukee Journal, he interviewed for a job at a hardware magazine in
Chicago.

“He came back and said, ‘What do you think?’” she said. “And I
cried.”

Wieghart kept on the field of journalism and eventually served as
chairman of CMU’s journalism department from 1989 to 1992.

“He said, ‘My goal is to get this program accredited,’” Sharon
Wieghart said. “And by golly, he did.”

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