Dates

• Existence: 1929-2005

Biography

Vernon Arthur Stone was born on October 21,1929 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Hughie and Mabel Stone. He received his BA in English at Western Kentucky University in 1951; his MA at the University of Iowa in journalism in 1953; and his Ph.D. at University of Wisconsin, Madison in mass communication in 1966. From 1966-1974 he served on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Madison before moving to the University of Georgia in 1974. In 1978 he moved to Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where he served as Director of the School of Journalism; and in 1986 he took his last posting at University of Missouri at Columbia, as a research professor at the School of Journalism. He retired with the rank of Emeritus Professor in 1992. He was one of the leading scholars in the field of broadcast journalism.   Stone's knowledge of the profession was broad as well as deep, as he worked as a newsman, announcer, and managing news editor in radio, and a newsman and television news coordinator at television stations before embarking on his teaching career. In addition to his teaching duties, Professor Stone served as research director for the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) for 22 years, in which position he collected data on many topics of interest to newspeople. This included statistics on women and minorities in television and radio news, stress among newspeople, the effects of electronic news gathering (ENG) among many, many others. He was honored for this work with a Distinguished Service Award from RTNDA. He wrote three books, the last one being Let's Talk Pay in Television and Radio News published in 1993, as well as many essays and articles. He also served on many committees, both at the universities where he worked and in professional organizations, such as the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).   Stone had a gruff manner but it was obvious that he was dedicated to his profession and to his students. He loved jazz and travelled the Midwest to attend concerts. Stone was a hiker and was often seen on the hiking trails around Columbia. He married Saribenne Thomas on June 11, 1966. They had two children, Adam and Hallie. The marriage ended in divorce, and he never remarried.   Stone died in Columbia at the age of 75 on June 15, 2005.

Citation:

Author: Jacque Roethler, October 2010

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