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UW honors alumni in journalism, communication

April 4, 2003

Two distinguished journalists, a distinguished-journalist-turned-mayor and a young public-relations executive will receive awards for professional distinction from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW–Madison during a banquet on Friday, April 4.

Awards for Distinguished Service to the Profession of Journalism will be presented to Laura Miller (B.A., journalism, 1980), who, after nearly two decades as a journalist in Texas, was elected mayor of Dallas in 2002; Eric Newhouse (B.S., political science, 1967), projects editor at the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune, who won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism in 2000; and David Zweifel (B.A., journalism, 1962), editor of The Capital Times in Madison and a longtime champion of freedom-of-information issues.

Winner of the Ralph O. Nafziger Award for distinguished achievement by an alumna within 10 years of graduation will be given to Ali (Weisberg) Zelenko (B.A., journalism, 1993), director of public relations for CNN.

“The journalism school relishes this opportunity to honor distinguished alumni,” says SJMC Director Sharon Dunwoody. “Communications is a powerful part of society, and our annual awards speak to the university’s longstanding role in the field.”

A reception will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner following at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Tripp Commons. For information about the banquet, contact Janet Buechner at (608) 263-4080.