By ELLEN KOBE
Society of Professional Journalists
INDIANAPOLIS–Reginald Stuart, a native of Nashville who began his career in local media, has been honored with the Associate Press Media Editors’ Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership.
Stuart is the second Nashvillian to be honored with the national news media award since it was first presented 12 years ago. Sherrie Marshall, editor of The (Macon, Ga.) Telegraph, was honored with the award two years ago by her APME news media peers. It is named after deceased Detroit Free Press executive editor Robert McGruder.
The award, which was bestowed on Stuart at the recent APME conference in Indianapolis, honors a longtime commitment to diversity in news content, as well as newsroom recruiting and staff development. The award includes a 14” silver sculpture and monetary honorarium.
Stuart’s award recognizes his contribution to the industry through recruiting a diverse group of young journalists to newsrooms across the country.
In addition to news reporting and writing on a regular basis for more than 40 years, Stuart has spent most of the past 20 years as a corporate recruiter for Knight Ridder Newspapers and later for The McClatchy Company.
Stuart has a reputable talent for finding intelligent reporters from various backgrounds. Many of them go on to having successful reporting jobs because of the potential Stuart sees in them.
“I look for spark,” Stuart told the APME audience at its national convention where he was honored. “If you have spark, it doesn’t matter who you are, I’ll work with you. If you don’t have a spark, I can’t give it to you.”
To Stuart, a candidate has this spark if they’re naturally hard working, inquisitive and curious. Stuart saw these qualities in Delano Massey when he was an intern at the Akron Beacon Journal several years ago. Massey, currently Regional Editor at the Lexington Herald-Leader, noted that Stuart is an exceptionally good recruiter.