The Missouri Interscholastic Press Association has honored Dr. Bob Bergland, professor of journalism at Missouri Western State University, with its 2018 Taft Award for outstanding service to scholastic journalism. The award honors Dr. Bergland’s advocacy for Missouri’s Cronkite New Voices Act, which aims to protect the First Amendment rights of student journalists in public high schools and universities.
“(Dr. Bergland) has been one of the faces and biggest supporters of the bill and, as an adviser at the college level, been through what high school advisers go through relating to potential censorship and infringement of student freedom of expression,” said Megan Palmer, MIPA secretary and a journalism adviser at Park Hill South High School in her nomination letter. “He visits classrooms across Missouri to talk about the bill … and is a true advocate for student rights.”
Dr. Bergland worked with State Rep. Elijah Haahr, a 2005 graduate of Missouri Western, to sponsor the Cronkite New Voices Act in 2016, and has worked with Rep. Kevin Corlew of North Kansas City this year to rewrite the bill and organize grass roots support and testimony for House and Senate hearings. The bill passed the House in 2016 and 2017 but stalled in the Senate. It passed the House again earlier this year, and it is slated for a Senate Education Committee hearing on March 27.
“I’m honored to be selected for this award. While I teach at the college level, I know it is so important for high school journalists to be able to serve their readers and publish their work free of censorship,” Dr. Bergland said. “It’s great to be recognized for the work on behalf of the students, but that work isn’t done. My real joy will come when the bill is passed by the Senate and signed by the governor.”
The nomination also cited Dr. Bergland’s work with high school journalism students. He is one of the presenters every year at Missouri Western’s High School Writing Day, he invites high school journalism programs to campus events like the Cronkite Conference on Media Ethics and Integrity and the recent presentation by First Amendment activist Mary Beth Tinker, and he has partnered with high school students on research projects that have given them the opportunity to present work at national conferences.
Other award recipients include Rep. Corlew, who will receive the Knight Award for sponsoring the Cronkite New Voices Act, and KMBC-TV 9 in Kansas City, receiving the Contributing Medium Award.
Dr. Bergland and other award recipients will be recognized at the annual Journalism Day on March 28 at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.