Newspaper Publisher Brandt Ayers to Speak at UA’s Winter Commencement Dec. 16

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Brandt Ayers, editor and publisher of The Anniston Star, will be the featured speaker for The University of Alabama’s winter commencement ceremony Monday, Dec. 16 at Coleman Coliseum on the UA campus.

During the 9 a.m. ceremony, Ayers will receive The Henry and Julia Tutwiler Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his exceptional service to the people of Alabama as well as to the University. Approximately 1,000 degrees will be conferred.

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 has also had articles, essays, and reviews appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and many other newspapers 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.”

A 1959 graduate of UA, Ayers 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.

For more information, contact UA’s Office of Media Relations at 205/348-5320.