Wolman, Shadid to be honored at first Cardinal Awards

Much has been said about the pedigree of The Daily Cardinal. Many of its alumni have gone on to prominent positions in the fields of advertising, business, law, public relations and journalism throughout its 107 year history, beginning with Cardinal founder William Wesley Young.

The success of these alumni has reflected well upon the venerable newspaper, which has not sought to express its appreciation to these individuals for their work -- until now.

On Saturday, May 8, 1999, the Daily Cardinal Alumni Association will honor eight alumni for their contributions to their respective fields and to The Daily Cardinal.

This year's recipients include two Associated Press editors, two prominent editorial writers, a longtime editor of a major state paper, a Pulitzer Prize winner, someone who spent half his life helping the Cardinal and a legendary network anchor.

Four distinct awards will be given to the eight recipients.

Jonathan J. Wolman, associate editor 1971-72, will be receiving the Daily Cardinal Alumnus of the Year award, recognizing his achievements over the past year.

Wolman, 50, was named managing editor of the Associated Press in November 1998 after 25 years with the world's largest news service.

His prior work with the AP included tenures in Madison, Detroit and Washington, D.C., where he ran its largest bureau for the past nine years.

Wolman also covered the Three Mile Island malfunction and directed coverage of Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance. He has also served as a Pulitzer juror for the past two years.

The first William Wesley Young Award for outstanding work by an alumnus within 15 years of graduation will be given to Anthony B. Shadid, campus editor 1988-89, the news editor of the Los Angeles bureau of the Associated Press.

Shadid, 30, served as a Middle East correspondent for four years, covering most stories from most every country in the region. In 1997, he received The Bob Considine Award from the Overseas Press Club for his work on "Islam's Challenge." The four-part series, which the AP published in December 1996, was the product of nine months of research and interviews in Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Turkey and the Palestinian territories.

Prior to his Middle East assignment, Shadid worked at the international desk in New York and in the Milwaukee bureau.

Emeritus Professor Robert Taylor will be honored for his 40 years of service. (For details, see sidebar.)

Five alumni with impeccable credentials will constitute the first class inducted into The Daily Cardinal Hall of Fame.

Leading the Class of 1999 is longtime associate editor and editorial writer John Patrick Hunter. Hunter, 82, was a columnist for the Cardinal and member of the Cardinal board in 1947.

Hunter spent 44 years at The Capital Times, capping a career which began at age 14 with the Charlotte Observer. He also reported on World War II during his tour of duty, including the Japanese surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri and walking through the devastation that was the city of Hiroshima. He was one of the first Americans to see the city after that event.

He is known for circulating a petition to passersby on July 4, 1951, at the height of McCarthyism. Only one of 112 people signed it. Its contents? Excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

Hunter was a stinging commentator on Wisconsin politics, often earning the ire of its practitioners at the Capitol. He retired in 1995.

Another editorial writer, Karl E. Meyer, 70, will be inducted for his achievements with The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Meyer, editor 1951, recently retired from the editorial board of The Times after 19 years of service.

He began writing editorials in the Post, eventually rising to the positions of London and New York bureau chief.

He climbed the Sierra Maestra to interview Fidel Castro and covered the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Meyer received his masters and doctorate from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School.

Richard H. Leonard, 77, the longtime editor of The Milwaukee Journal, will also be inducted.

Leonard, editor 1946-47, served as the Journal's editor from 1967 to 1985, a term spanning five U.S. presidents.

His career also included ten years of service on the Pulitzer Prize committee, national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, chairman of the International Press Institute, an organization of news executives in more than 100 nations, and president of the Milwaukee Press Club.

Leonard joined the faculty of the Marquette University Journalism School in 1989, where he now serves as professor emeritus.

The most recognized of this year's class is NBC anchor and reporter Edwin Newman. Newman, editor 1939-40, worked at NBC for 35 years.

Newman, 80, served as chief of its Paris, London and Rome bureaus, covering coronations, Papal elections and state funerals.

He anchored the breaking news coverage of the assassinations of the Kennedys and Rev. Martin Luther King and the attempted assassinations of President Ronald Reagan and Governor George Wallace.

A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Newman has played himself in many movies.

Newman is the only person to have hosted both a presidential debate and "Saturday Night Live."

Miriam Ottenberg will be inducted posthumously. One of the first women to win a Pulitzer Prize for news reporting, Ottenberg was known for her pioneering work for female reporters.

Ottenberg, reporter 1933-35, earned her Pulitzer for reporting of used car sales practices, changing the legislation covering that industry.

She opened the National Press Club to women in 1962 and was elected its president in 1964. Sen. Robert Kennedy spoke at her inauguration.

Ottenberg authored two books, the second on the condition which forced her retirement, multiple sclerosis.

She died of cancer on Nov. 9, 1982 at the age of 68.