School of Print Media Seeks Nominations for RIT Isaiah Thomas Award in Publishing

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A. Sue Weisler

Mark Mikolajczyk, president and publisher of Florida Today, was the 26th recipient of RIT’s Isaiah Thomas Award this past spring. RIT is soliciting nominations through Jan. 15 for candidates for the annual award.

Rochester Institute of Technology is seeking nominations for its Isaiah Thomas Award in Publishing. The award, named for one of America’s great patriot printers, recognizes outstanding contributions made to the publishing industry. RIT’s School of Print Media will honor the award recipient next fall. The deadline for nominations is Jan. 15.

Nomination forms are available at www.rit.edu/cias/newsmedia/2011-call-nominations.

“This award has a longstanding history of honoring significant contributors in the news- media industry who understand the tremendous responsibility of delivering accurate news and information while disseminating it across various platforms,” says Twyla Cummings, the Paul and Louise Miller Distinguished Professor at RIT. “I encourage people to nominate someone who is a role model and innovator in the industry. RIT looks forward to celebrating the achievements of our recipient next fall at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.”

Past recipients of the award include Mark Mikolajczyk, president and publisher of Florida Today; Thomas Curley, president and chief executive officer of the Associated Press; Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of The New York Times Co. and publisher of The New York Times; and Katharine Graham, president of Washington Post Co.

The RIT Isaiah Thomas Award in Publishing is named in tribute to an early leader of the American printing industry. In 1779, Isaiah Thomas established The Massachusetts Spy at a print shop known as “the sedition factory” by the British colonial government. Legend has it that Thomas rode with Paul Revere to rouse the militia for the battles of Lexington and Concord. He continued his publishing career after the Revolutionary War and, in 1810, wrote The History of Printing in America, regarded as the basic source of information on early American printing and publishing.

For more information about the award or the nomination process, call 585-475-2728.