Renowned journalist leaves his own mark with Pulitzer Prize

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Renowned journalist leaves his own mark with Pulitzer Prize

Award-winning book caps successful career for UMD’s Roberts

by Jennifer Donatelli | Staff Writer

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Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland

Gene Roberts, a professor in the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, won the Pulitzer Prize for History for the book he wrote with Atlanta Journal Constitution Managing Editor Hank Klibanoff titled ‘‘The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle and the Awakening of a Nation.”

Gene Roberts, a professor in the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, oversaw several journalists who won Pulitzer Prizes during his nearly 20 years as executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Now that Roberts received the Pulitzer for History with Hank Klibanoff for their book, ‘‘The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle and the Awakening of a Nation” on April 16, he said the award is the icing on the cake of a long career.

‘‘It’s very satisfying. It’s a wonderful thing to happen at any time. I’m 74 years old. It seems to me it’s never too late,” Roberts said.

The book, published in October, examines how the nation’s press came to recognize the importance of the civil rights struggle.

Roberts said he and Klibanoff, managing editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, had worked on the book off and on for 16 years.

Roberts initially set out to be a historian, not a journalist, but eventually decided he liked journalism more. If he had set out to be a historian, he would have specialized in medieval history, he said.

But Roberts became fascinated with his native region of the south early in his career when he worked for the Goldsboro News-Argus, the Virginian Pilot and The Raleigh News & Observer.

‘‘It was arguably the most important change in America in the 20th century,” he said of the civil rights era.

That attitude and dedication to his craft is why Roberts is a valued professor, said Thomas Kunkel, Maryland’s journalism school dean.

Roberts’ decision to join the faculty boosted the school’s reputation, he said.

‘‘Gene is one of the biggest reasons the journalism school came so far in the last 15 to 20 years,” said Kunkel, who has looked up to Roberts since working as an editor at the Knight-Ridder chain when Roberts was at the Inquirer.

‘‘Gene invited me to come to Maryland for 10 years to be an editor for a series on newspapers. He was one of the people responsible for me being dean of the school,” Kunkel said.

Roberts’ love for the school has remained even though he moved to New York three years ago to be closer to family. He commutes by plane to teach two classes, one the same subject as his book, and the other, ‘‘Writing the Complete Story.”

‘‘At my age, I don’t change loyalties,” Roberts said by telephone from his home.

E-mail Jennifer Donatelli atjdonatelli@gazette.net.