Media Advisory — UA’s Winter Commencement Exercises, December 16, 2002, 9 a.m., Coleman Coliseum

SPEAKER

Brandt Ayers, Editor and Publisher of The Anniston Star

For the past three generations, the Ayers’ family has run The Anniston Star, which the Columbia Journalism Review recently ranked among the 35 best newspapers in the nation. Time Magazine has twice named it “one of the best small newspapers in the United States.” Ayers, a 1959 alumnus of The University of Alabama, has also had articles, essays, and reviews appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and many other papers and magazines. More than 30 newspapers carry his syndicated column, “Out Here.” He has co-authored or contributed chapters to five books, including” Dixie Dateline: A Journalistic Portrait of the Contemporary South” and the highly acclaimed “You Can’t Eat Magnolias.” He is also a frequent commentator for National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.” He was inducted in UA’s Communication Hall of Fame in October 2000. His other honors include a Nieman fellowship to Harvard University, serving as a Pulitzer Prize juror, and receiving an honorary doctorate from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

GRADUATE STORY IDEAS

Brooke Smith: “The Bachelor’s” Brooke Loses One Bachelor, But Gains Another

Brooke Smith, the runner up on the 2002 edition of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” lost bachelor Aaron Buerge to Helene, but she gains another bachelor on Dec. 16 when she receives her bachelor’s degree in marketing. Smith, a native of Albertville, says her future plans are still pending as she is under contract to ABC for the next year.

Kenny King: Tide Football Player Becomes First Academic All-American Since 1970s

Crimson Tide Football Player Kenny King is making history, but in the classroom, not on the football field. King, who will receive his marketing degree Monday, has been named an Academic All-American, the first Crimson Tide football player to earn the honor since the early 1970s. Also, King is the first minority Crimson Tide football player to receive this honor.