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Knoxville History Project and Front Page Foundation Honor Adolph OCHS



The East Tennessee chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (ETSPJ), University of Tennessee School of Journalism and Electronic Media (UTJEM), Knoxville History Project and Front Page Foundation (FPF) teamed up for two events in downtown Knoxville that are free and open to the public. A panel, cosponsored by UT and ETSPJ and called, “What Would Ochs Have to Say?,” was held at the East Tennessee History Center. The panelists included Alex S. Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and historian; Jack Neely, author and executive director of the Knoxville History Project; and Dr. Michael Martinez, media historian and assistant professor at the University of Tennessee School of Journalism and Electronic Media. The event was billed as “an evening of discussion on the legacy of The New York Times owner and publisher Adolph Ochs and how he might view the current state of U.S. news media.” Following the panel, attendees gathered at Bernadette’s Crystal Gardens on Market Square for appetizers and beverages with a portion of the sales donated to the Front Page Foundation, which raises funds to support journalism through scholarships, professional development and educational programs. The following day, a historical plaque was dedicated on Wall Avenue outside 36 Market Square, near the site of the Knoxville Chronicle office where Ochs began his career as a carrier boy at age 11. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon was in attendance to present a proclamation in recognition of journalism history in Knoxville and unveil the plaque. The effort to honor Ochs and the historical significance for Knoxville journalism also is being supported in kind by downtown entrepreneurs Scott and Bernadette West, who own the building where the plaque is to be placed and paid for it to be affixed to the wall. The National Society of Professional Journalists named 36 Market Square as an Historic Site in Journalism last year, one of only two designations in Tennessee.

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