October 2, 2003

The U dedicates Al Neuharth Media Center

VERMILLION, S.D. – An inscription in six-inch-high cast-metal letters is bolted to the front of the newest building at The University of South Dakota. It reads: "The First Amendment guaranteed a free press. We in the media must make sure it is a fair one."

That quote is from South Dakota native and USD alumnus Al Neuharth, who has devoted his half-century career in journalism to innovation, to promoting a free and fair press, to reinvigorating the newspaper industry and to equal-employment opportunities.

At the dedication (L to R): George McGovern, James W. Abbott, Al Neuharth, Gov. Mike Rounds, Ruth Ziolkowski

The founder of USA TODAY (the nation's largest newspaper) and of the Freedom Forum (a non-partisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people) lent his name to another legacy on September 25. On that date, he joined South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, University of South Dakota President James W. Abbott and a crowd of 1,400 onlookers to dedicate the Al Neuharth Media Center on the U's campus in Vermillion.

Neuharth, age 79, is allowing his name on the building with one firm stipulation: the Al Neuharth Media Center must be dedicated to both press freedom and press fairness.

"If it isn't, I may someday slip out of my grave, come back and scratch my name off it," he threatened.

The media center is a vibrant, multi-faceted one where good journalism is taught and practiced, where the First Amendment is preached and protected, and where public and private organizations collaborate in support of freedom of expression and the highest standards of journalism.

The Freedom Forum (using investment funds) and the University of South Dakota Foundation (using private donations) gave most of the $5 million the university needed to transform a 75-year-old former gymnasium into a state-of-the-art media center.

Today, it is used by professional journalists who work there, by journalism students who learn in classes there and gain experience through campus media, and by people who visit and participate in programs.

The Al Neuharth Media Center is home to all the media operations on campus: Freedom Forum regional offices and conference facilities; the USD Department of Contemporary Media and Journalism; South Dakota Public Broadcasting and its KUSD stations; the Native American Journalists Association; and all student media organizations including The Volante (which Neuharth edited as a student), campus radio station KAOR and television station KYOT.

Although all these media organizations are administered independently, their proximity promotes synergy and partnerships.

President Abbott proposed the Neuharth building project four years ago as a way to honor one of the U's most accomplished graduates and to bring together and expand all the academic and professional journalism programs on campus. He also envisioned a new campus mall featuring the media center, the Law School and, eventually, a new Business School.

Al Neuharth came to Vermillion with help from the G.I. bill after World War II. At USD, he had his first taste of both failure and success in journalism. Following a dreadful performance as a play-by-play sports announcer for KUSD radio, he quit and joined The Volante staff. There, he became editor. He graduated with a journalism degree in 1950.

Neuharth and a classmate, Bill Porter, started a statewide weekly sports newspaper called SoDak Sports that went broke within two years. Neuharth then left South Dakota, went on to a successful career in daily newspapers, eventually joined the Gannett Company, became its CEO and launched USA TODAY in 1982. In 1991, he directed the establishment of the Freedom Forum as successor to a foundation started in 1935 by newspaper publisher Frank E. Gannett.

"My years growing up in Eureka and Alpena, USD summer 'vacations' working on newspapers in Aberdeen and Mitchell and Rapid City and especially the four years here on this campus set the stage for my future ventures and adventures," Neuharth said.

The vast two-story structure now bearing his name was a familiar building to Neuharth as a student. It was called the New Armory then and was the home of Coyote athletics and headquarters for ROTC. Inman Field, the university's football stadium, was outside the back door. The Al Neuharth Media Center has a new grand entrance and front that face the old Inman Field. The dedication ceremony was held there.

Beginning in April, 2002, construction workers gutted the massive gymnasium space in the center of the building and built two new floors for exhibits, conference and meeting facilities, broadcast studios, classrooms, labs and offices. An exhibit about Al Neuharth's life and career is part of a spectacular grand concourse that runs the depth of the building and covers what once was the USD home basketball court.

The Freedom Forum, The Volante and the Native American Journalists Association moved from elsewhere on campus this summer and joined the other organizations that moved back into the building after being displaced the past two years.

The Freedom Forum and its predecessor, the Gannett Foundation, have funded a journalism and scholarship program at USD since 1988. From the beginning, the program has mentored and supported student journalists working for The Volante and honored lifetime professional achievement with the annual Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism.

In addition to continuing those priorities, the Freedom Forum has expanded its South Dakota operations to focus on the First Amendment and employment diversity in daily newspaper newsrooms, with an emphasis on American Indians. The Freedom Forum runs the annual American Indian Journalism Institute at USD, funds the Native American Newspaper Career Conference at Crazy Horse Memorial and promotes excellence in journalism through teaching, conferences, scholarships and internships. The Freedom Forum also provides office facilities to the Native American Journalists Association, located in the Al Neuharth Media Center.

This new facility is one its many partners -- indeed, all of South Dakota -- can take pride in.

"With the exception of the capitol, the Al Neuharth Media Center is the finest state building in South Dakota and a great reuse of space," President Abbott has said. Those who attended the dedication and all who study in it, work in it and visit it in years ahead will agree.

For a video of the dedication ceremony, click here. For the accompanying media symposium, featuring former Associated Press CEO Louis Boccardi, Associated Press CEO Tom Curley, former NewsHour host Robert MacNeil, First Amendment Center founder John Seigenthaler and CNN anchor Judy Woodruff, click here.