The Timothy A. Franklin scholarship supports undergraduate journalism majors who have proven their ability in print media by working on the Indiana Daily Student and who have a record of academic excellence.
Franklin, BS’83, is a former IDS student who went on to craft a career in newspaper journalism. Now senior associate dean and professor at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications following three years as president of The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, Franklin traces his success at the Institute and in newspaper leadership to his early work.
Frankin excelled at the IDS. In 1981, Franklin won the Society of Professional Journalists’ Barney Kilgore Award as the top college journalism student in the nation.
After receiving his degree in journalism education in 1983, he joined the Chicago Tribune as a reporter. During 17 years, he rose through the ranks from assistant city editor to associate managing editor.
His first leadership role was as editor of The Indianapolis Star, which under his guidance won a national Polk Award for statewide reporting for an investigation into Indiana’s services for mentally ill patients.
Next, as editor and vice president of the Orlando Sentinel, Franklin led the staff to win more than two dozen national journalism awards. While he was editor at the Baltimore Sun, the newspaper was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting in 2007.
Franklin also became a leader in the profession, especially in the area of open government. While at the Sentinel, he spearheaded what became “Sunshine Week,” the annual journalism observance that spotlights access to public information.
In 2008, Franklin returned to campus as the Louis A. Weil Jr. Endowed Chair at the School of Journalism. In addition to teaching, he helped launch the National Sports Journalism Center, now on the Bloomington campus, taking the project from idea stages to the debut of the nation’s first program offering a master’s degree in sports journalism.
Franklin joined Bloomberg News in 2011, where he was managing editor in its Washington bureau.
Franklin received the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012.