ATLANTA — The Atlanta Press Club will enshrine four highly regarded journalists into its Hall of Fame later this year.
Budd McEntee, Atlanta television’s longest-serving news director; Eugene Patterson, a reporter, editor and columnist credited with helping change the South and the nation during the civil rights movement; John Smith Sr., publisher and CEO of The Atlanta Inquirer; and Judy Woodruff, co-anchor and managing editor of the PBS Newshour, will be inducted during a Nov. 29 ceremony.
The four journalists will join 24 other journalists in the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established in 2011, and previous inductees include Ted Turner, Tom Brokaw, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Henry W. Grady, Ralph McGill and Monica Pearson
“These journalists have each made a lasting impact on journalism in Atlanta,” Atlanta Press Club President Lauri Strauss said. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to honor these individuals and celebrate their contributions.”
Budd McEntee, Atlanta television’s longest-serving news director. He joined Atlanta station WAGA-TV in 1982 as a producer and managing editor and gradually worked his way up to vice president of news, a post he held for nearly two decades. During that time, he built the “I-Team,” the station’s long-form investigative journalism unit. He retired from his post in 2010.
Eugene C. Patterson, a reporter, editor and columnist credited with helping change the South and the nation during the civil rights movement. He served as editor of the Atlanta Constitution from 1960 to 1968 and won the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. Patterson, who died in 2013, is also known for publishing the Pentagon Papers in 1971 while at The Washington Post.
John Smith Sr., publisher and CEO of The Atlanta Inquirer. Smith, who also served as a leader in the —National Newspaper Publishers’ Association, became editor of The Atlanta Inquirer in 1961, after community leaders helped create the paper to fill what they saw as a void in news coverage of the burgeoning Atlanta student movement. He will be honored along with the founders of The Atlanta Inquirer.
Judy Woodruff, co-anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour. She began her career at WAGA-TV and joined PBS in 1983 as anchor of Frontline with Judy Woodruff. After a stint at CNN, she returned to PBS in 2006 and joined NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
