Photo courtesy of External Affairs
Journalism donors Suzanne Murphy (L), Corinne Quayle and her son Michael Quayle attend the media and news CCA.
In keeping with the theme of this semester’s second CCA, sisters Corinne Quayle and Suzanne Murphy have offered their support to preserve the legacy of good journalism.
Quayle’s son, Hillsdale student Michael Quayle, announced Tuesday that the women’s financial gift will be used for additions to the Dow Journalism Program.
“We’ve wanted to do something for Hillsdale for a while,” Corinne Quayle said. “Newspapers have been the life and blood of my family.”
Both gifts were named in honor of the family’s legacy for accurate and dedicated community journalism.
The additions to the program include the “Eugene C. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Fellowship in Journalism,” and the “James C. Quayle Journalism Interns” programs.
The late Eugene C. Pulliam, father to Quayle and Murphy, was a newspaper publisher, founder of the Pulliam Journalism Fellowship and president of Central Newspapers Inc., a multi-billion dollar media corporation. He instilled in his family a sense of community and integrity for relaying the news, Murphy said.
“Money and power was never a reason for Grandpa,” Michael said. “Taking care of the community was what was important, he had the opportunity to buy larger papers and he didn’t.”
The late Jim Quayle was the husband of Corinne and father to Michael and Dan Quayle, former Vice President of the United States. Jim, like his father-in-law, was a publisher of a newspaper and left a similar legacy of integrity and truth as a guide for reporting.
The visiting fellowship program will work to bring current journalists to Hillsdale for a semester to teach. The internship program will allow Dow Journalism program students to take an unpaid internship and get some compensation from the school for their time and effort.
“The programs are supposed to be an inspiration for good journalism,” Corrine Quayle said.
Though the sisters never practiced professional journalism as a career, they both got a taste of the journalism world through summer jobs with their father’s newspaper.
“I accidentally announced my best friend’s engagement,” Murphy said as her biggest mistake. Corrine Quayle chimed in and said she once buried a man before he was dead.
Though neither sister found her niche in journalism, both said they want Hillsdale to use their gift to continue developing a higher level of journalism.
Tracy Lee Simmons, director of the Dow Journalism Program said that he is happy to see new energy infused into the program.
“The biggest part of the gift will go toward visiting journalists to come for one term,” Simmons said. “It’s going to be tough to get the right people because journalists don’t like to take time off.”
Simmons said he anticipates the fellowships beginning as early as next year.
Senior Andrea Yeutter, a student in the Dow Journalism Program, said she thinks the additions will give the Hillsdale journalism students a broader view of the world of journalism and may even help in making decisions about their future careers.
“I am excited for this development in the program,” Yeutter said. “I wish I would be here to enjoy it.”
Michael Quayle said this legacy should be remembered each time a journalism student walks in the Collegian office.
“Like Dad said: ‘Let it be the truth, or trash it,’” he said.