St. Louis media hall of fame to induct 17 new members

The St. Louis Media History Foundation has announced its 2012 inductees to the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame, and all have made their mark on St. Louis journalism, advertising and public relations.

The inductees were elected by the St. Louis Media History Foundation board of directors from among dozens of nominees and were announced Jan. 29. They will be recognized at an induction ceremony scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 20 at Copia Restaurant and Wine Bar, located at the intersection of 11th and Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis.

In alphabetical order, the 2012 inductees are:

• George Abel: Legendary television and radio broadcaster, actor and entertainer, a radio broadcaster, newsman for KSD-TV, co-star of the old Charlotte Peters Show, the Wranglers Club, and for years an announcer on Wrestling at the Chase on KPLR.

• Robert A. Cohn: Editor for 35 years of the St. Louis Jewish Light. He built the newspaper into one of the top Jewish newspapers in the country.

• Thomas Patrick Convey: First station manager of KMOX Radio, owner of KWK Radio, and sports broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns.

• Clarence “Harry” Fender:  Known by Baby Boomers as “Captain 11 on KPLR-TV,” a radio broadcaster for KMOX and KXOK.

• Ed Finkelstein: Longtime publisher of the St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune; founder of Union Communications, one of the first union-oriented PR firms in America helping organized labor tell its story; and founder of UNICOM•ARC.

• Don Marsh: Winner of 12 Regional Emmy Awards for his television news and anchor work for KTVI and KDNL, and producer and host of more than 1,600 public affairs programs, including a daily public-affairs program that airs on KWMU, St. Louis Public Radio.

• John McGuire: Longtime feature writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, champion of the underdog, and writer of colorful stories of people and offbeat things in life.

• James C. Millstone: Longtime St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter, editor and assistant managing editor at the Post-Dispatch, on the infamous Nixon “enemies” list, covered the civil rights movement, constitutional law and legal issues.

• Franklin Oros: A 30-year veteran of the ad business, worked for Savan, Creath Jacobsen, Gardner Advertising, an associate professor at Washington University and an advertising consultant.

• Bob Peirce: Former medical reporter with the Globe- Democrat and Louisville Courier Journal, made his mark as a communications strategist with Monsanto and Fleishman-Hillard.

• Wiley Price Jr.: The first African-American in the St. Louis region to host a radio show. He got his start in 1944 on WTMV in East St. Louis and had subsequent shows on KXLW and KSTL.

• Del Schwinke: Longtime advertising executive with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Geile-Leon Marketing Communications, and an adjunct professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

• Paul Siemer: Longtime partner in Stolberg & Siemer Public Relations, a former St. Louis Globe-Democrat reporter, a brilliant writer and senior executive with Fleishman-Hillard, where he led the Anheuser-Busch account for more than a dozen years, and helped grow FH into a global powerhouse.

• J.G. Taylor Spink: Publisher of the Sporting News from 1914-1962, and namesake of the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

• Bill Tyler: Advertising instructor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and at St. Louis University, and an ad man with D’Arcy, Gardner Advertising and Pizza Hut.

• Harry B. Wilson: A former reporter and communications pioneer, a civic mover-and-shaker who also was instrumental in the global expansion of Fleishman-Hillard.

• Sue Ann Wood: A pioneer in St. Louis journalism, she was a reporter, city editor and managing editor for the Globe-Democrat (1955-1984) and editor at the Post-Dispatch (1984-1991). She was just the second female managing editor in the country of a major daily newspaper.

The St. Louis Media History Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that researches and compiles St. Louis media artifacts and memorabilia, including hundreds of regional newspapers, photos, audio and videotapes, and equipment used at the advent of radio and television in St. Louis.

Much of the collection is housed in the St. Louis Media Archive at the St. Louis Public Library and the Missouri History Museum. The foundation accepts contributions to develop and expand its St. Louis media history collection, its website, local archives/repositories, oral histories and the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame. For more information, visit the foundation’s Facebook pages or its website, www.stlmediahistory.com.