David Crabtree – CEO and General Manager, PBS North Carolina
Growing up, David Crabtree became enthralled with Walter Cronkite’s coverage of early NASA space shots. He memorized Cronkite’s questions, style and delivery.
Four years later, Crabtree landed his first job in broadcasting at WGNS-AM in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. His next stops were in his hometown of Nashville. WKDA-AM/FM and WLAC-AM presented more opportunities, challenges and adventures. In 1972, his career pivoted when Tennessee Speaker of the House James McKinney tapped Crabtree to be his administrative assistant and press secretary. Crabtree worked in state government until 1976.
At age 32, Crabtree he followed his heart back into journalism. Currently the CEO and general manager of PBS North Carolina, Crabtree’s career of more than 40 years in broadcast journalism includes interviews with seven presidents, seven governors, senators and representatives, business leaders and, most importantly, the citizens of the world. He spent nearly three decades as an anchor and reporter for WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina, had previous broadcast journalism stops in Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado.
. JJ Miller – Senior Vice President, Media and Video, Sharecare
JJ Miller is a passionate digital entertainment and news media executive with a resume showcasing both her business and creative skills. She founded her eponymous media company in 2010. Since then, Miller, a 1994 graduate of the school, has worked with major brands, small companies and nonprofits to help them hone their video and audio strategies, create compelling, shareable content and respond to ever-shifting industry transitions. She currently serves as senior vice president, media and video, of Sharecare Inc. a health and wellness engagement platform that provides consumers with personalized information, programs and resources to improve their health.
Formerly, Miller was vice president, programming at PeopleTV and executive producer, Style and Entertainment Group at Time Inc. where she oversaw programming for Time Inc.’s (now Meredith Corporation’s) free streaming network, in addition to all video content for the Style and Entertainment Group. Prior to joining Time Inc., Miller served as vice president and senior creative executive for Katie Couric Media, where she led news and scripted programming for broadcast, cable and broadband networks. Other career stops include HuffPost, SiriusXM and the Oprah Winfrey Brands, where she worked at Harpo Productions, as producer of “The Gayle King Show,” later bringing that popular radio show to the small screen on OWN.
Robert J. Brown – Founder, Chairman and CEO, B&C Associates
Robert J. Brown is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of B&C Associates Inc., a management consulting, marketing research and public relations firm headquartered in High Point, North Carolina. He is also the Chairman and CEO of B&C International Inc. and president of International BookSmart Foundation.
B&C was founded in 1960 and has been privileged to serve many organizations of the Fortune 500, such as Sara Lee Corporation, USAA, General Motors Corporation, Coca-Cola Company and the Nissan Corporation. A native of North Carolina, Brown entered the field of law enforcement in the 1950s, first serving as a local police officer and then as a federal agent with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Brown served as president of CEO of B&C Associates Inc. until 1968 when he took a leave of absence from the company to serve as special assistant to President Richard Nixon. He returned as chairman and CEO of B&C Associates Inc. in 1973.
Brown is a retired member of the boards of Duke Energy, Wachovia Corporation, Sonoco Products Company, AutoNation Inc. and the North Carolina Railroad Company. He holds eleven honorary doctorate degrees and six national achievement awards. He has been honored as a recipient of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Award among many others. He also recently released his memoir, “You Can’t Go Wrong Doing Right.”
Kenny Smith – Sports Analyst, “Inside the NBA”
Emmy-winning sports analyst Kenny Smith is a long-time member of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show. In addition to his role on “Inside the NBA,” Smith has served as an analyst for WBD Sports and CBS Sports’ combined coverage of the NCAA March Madness Division I Men’s Basketball Championship since 2011. Smith is also the founder of The Jet Academy, a virtual live basketball camp.
He also served as a basketball analyst for the 2001 Goodwill Games and worked with NBA and TNT in 2005 to organize and host the NBA Players Hurricane Relief Game in order to provide assistance to evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. The effort raised more than $1 million in cash, goods and services for victims of the natural disaster.
Prior to his broadcast career, Smith played nine seasons in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings (1987-90), Atlanta Hawks (1990), Houston Rockets (1990-96), Detroit Pistons (1996), Orlando Magic (1996-97) and Denver Nuggets (1997), winning NBA Championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995. The 1987 UNC graduate started his basketball career playing for UNC and ranks second in the school’s history with 768 assists, including 86 assists in NCCA Tournament play.
Janet Northen – EVP/ Director of Agency Communications, McKinney
Janet Northen has spent a career applying strategic corporate communications to build agency brands. In the 1980s, she teamed with top management at The Martin Agency to advance its strategic position as a powerful alternative for marketers seeking great creative off Madison Avenue. Her EQ-infused public relations would also take Fallon on a new business ride. Both Martin and Fallon earned national Agency of the Year titles from both Ad Age and Adweek. She has served on the faculty of Adweek’s Champions Institute, was a featured speaker at the 4A’s Emerald Forums, took to the industry’s top stages and was regularly called by CEOs asking her to sneak away to work on their agency brands.
Northen describes her current role at McKinney as “helping clients market their marketing.” For 24 years, she has helped McKinney craft rich conversations that engage consumers and build the agency’s brands, which have included Audi of America, NASDAQ, Crocs, Travelocity, P&G, Samsung, ESPN, Little Caesars, Puma, Blue Diamond Almonds, the Ad Council and many others. Northen helped McKinney earn Adweek’s Agency of the Year and a coveted spot on Ad Age’s “A List” that recognizes the best agencies in the business.
At McKinney as well as UNC, Northen has inspired and mentored dozens of students considering careers in marketing and advertising.
Curry Kirkpatrick — Sports Journalist
A 1965 graduate of the school, Curry Kirkpatrick spent 27 years at Sports Illustrated as a senior writer, specializing in coverage of college basketball and tennis. Known for his ability to turn a phrase, Kirkpatrick was one of the giants in an SI lineup that included NSMA Hall of Famers Frank Deford, Peter Gammons, Dan Jenkins, Sally Jenkins, Leigh Montville, Jim Murray, William Knack, Rick Reilly, Gary Smith and Rick Telander.
Upon his departure from SI, Kirkpatrick went on to spend the next 10 years writing for Newsweek and ESPN the Magazine. He also dabbled in television, commentating for both CBS and ESPN. And he co-wrote two books, Jim Valvano’s autobiography, “They Gave me a Lifetime Contract and Then They Declared Me Dead,” and Dick Vitale’s autobiography “Just your Average Bald, One-Eyed Basketball Whacko wo Beat the Ziggy and Became PTP’er.” Both were New York Times bestsellers.
He retired in 2002 and was a charter inductee into the United States Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame and won the Curt Gowdy award from the Naismith basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
– John B. Adams – Inducted 1989John B. “Jack” Adams, a New Jersey native, spent 27 years as a professor in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, including 10 years as dean. His dedication to teaching young journalists and contributions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s journalism program were exceptional.
Adams started his mass communication career when he enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley at 31. Prior to entering college, he was European sales manager for an American glass company and a real estate broker. He served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Adams graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with highest honors from Berkeley in two years. Within four more years, he had received master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, he worked as a copy editor and reporter at The Wisconsin State Journal. He soon became interested in journalism education, and taught at Michigan State University for one year before coming to Chapel Hill. In 1958, he came to UNC as a specialist in mass communication law. He was dean of the MJ-school from 1969 to 1979 and retired in 1985.
He received a teaching-excellence award from UNC, the Chancellor’s Award for Service to Journalism from the University of Wisconsin and the Sigma Delta Chi Award at UNC for his work in freedom of information.
Adams was president of the American Association of Schools and Departments of Journalism in 1975 and served on the executive committee of the International Association for Mass Communication Research and the N.C. News Media Administration of Justice Council in North Carolina.
Adams died in 2015 at age 95.
– Penelope Muse Abernathy – Inducted 1998Penelope Muse Abernathy distinguished herself as a leader in developing the New York Times’ business strategy.
Abernathy was born in Laurinburg, N.C., and is a 1973 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received her M.B.A. in 1985 and a master’s degree in journalism in 2003 from Columbia University in New York City.
Before joining The Times, she was an editor with The Dallas Times Herald, The Charlotte Observer, The Wichita Eagle-Beacon and The Fayetteville Times. At The Fayetteville Times, she won the first of three Penney-Missouri Awards given in consecutive years to its Lifestyle section.
Abernathy joined The New York Times in June 1989 as a corporate planning analyst and later became business manager of The Times’ then-1,000-member news department with its three dozen foreign bureaus and two dozen domestic bureaus.
Thereafter, she was named vice president of planning, responsible for setting The Times’ overall business strategy. She then served as senior vice president of planning and human resources until 1997, where she was responsible for coordinating The Times’ development of staff resources with the requirements of the business strategy and plans.
Serving as senior vice president of planning, Abernathy was responsible for coordinating planning between business and news for the paper’s redesign in 1997, the introduction of the Northeast Edition and the aggressive expansion of the National Edition.
In December 1997, she was named president of The New York Times News Services, a new division of The Times that included The New York Times Syndication Sales Corp., Times News Service, TimesFax, Licensing and Royalties, Photo Archives, Book Development, Large Print Weekly and Crossword Product Development.
After being inducted into the Hall of Fame, she served as general manager of Harvard Business School Publishing and publisher of the Harvard Business Review from 1999 to 2002; senior vice president of the Wall Street Journal from 2003 to 2006, responsible for the business operations of the European and Asian editions, as well as business development for U.S. and international operations; and vice president and executive director of the Media and International Councils of senior business executives at the Paley Center for Media from 2006 to 2008.
Abernathy joined the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 2008 as the Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics, specializing in preserving quality journalism by helping news organizations succeed economically in the digital space. She is the author of “Saving Community Journalism: The Path to Profitability” (UNC Press, 2014) and lead co-author of “The Strategic Digital Media Entrepreneur” (Wiley, 2018).