Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame inducts Class of 2018

The Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame honored seven outstanding Tennessee journalists, including one posthumously, during induction ceremonies Tuesday, Aug. 7, during the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters annual conference at Murfreesboro’s Embassy Suites Hotel. This marked the sixth class to be inducted into the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame, located at Middle Tennessee State University.

Pictured, from left, are Tyler Thompson and Jerry Thompson, grandson and son respectively, accepting on behalf of posthumous honoree Jerry Thompson, a Tennessean investigative reporter who infiltrated the Klan in the 1980s; longtime Midstate journalist and columnist Dan Whittle of Murfreesboro; award-winning Nashville News 2 anchor Bob Mueller; First Amendment advocate and retired Tennessean journalist and editor Frank Gibson; Knoxville News Sentinel editorial cartoonist Charlie Daniel; and veteran announcer and sportscaster Randy Smith. Grand Ole Opry photographer and publicist Les Leverett was not able to attend.

(Photo courtesy of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters)