ST. LOUIS — Five inductees will join the Missouri Newspaper Hall of Fame on Sept. 22, during the Missouri Press Association’s 157th Annual Convention and Trade Show in St. Louis. Established by MPA in 1991, the 2023 Hall of Fame class will be the 33rd group to be inducted.
This year’s inductees are the late Terez Paylor, a prolific sports reporter for The Kansas City Star and other outlets; the late Eugene Webster Sharp, a legendary journalism educator at the Missouri School of Journalism; the late Jane See White, a renowned writer, editor and journalism professor; Donald M. Suggs, longtime owner and publisher of The St. Louis American; and Dan Wehmer, publisher and owner of the Webster County Citizen, Seymour.
Hall of Fame inductees or their families receive Pinnacle Awards in honor of the inductees’ service to the Missouri newspaper industry and their communities. Inductees’ plaques will join the permanent display of inductees in the MPA office in Columbia and in the student lounge in Lee Hills Hall at the Missouri School of Journalism.
Under Suggs’ leadership, The St. Louis American has been named the top Black newspaper in the country 14 times since 1995 by the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association, as well as earning more than 1,000 industry awards for excellence in journalism, advertising and community service. The newspaper has also received Missouri Press Association’s top award, the Gold Cup Award, six times.
Suggs has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Washington University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Harris-Stowe State University, St. Louis Community College and Saint Louis University and is the recipient of many prestigious civic awards.
The University of Missouri-Columbia, Southeast Missouri State University, Harris-Stowe State University, Missouri State University, St. Louis Community College, Maryville University, Fontbonne University, Webster University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Goldfarb School of Nursing, Saint Louis University, and Washington University all provide annual scholarships to high potential students with financial needs, in his name.
Suggs’ industry awards include:
St. Louis Print Media Hall of Fame (2007)
Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame (2014)
(initial awardee with Sen. Jack Danforth and President Harry S. Truman, posthumously)
Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis Media Person of the Year (2015)
National Newspaper Publishers’ Association Publisher of the Year (2016)
Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists Trailblazer Award (2016)
Gateway Journalism Review Lifetime Achievement Award (2021).