2001 Inductees

Tom Cherones

The man who produced or directed the first 86 episodes of Seinfeld, the most successful situation comedy in the history of television, got his first broadcasting job at The University of Alabama. "I was working at the A&P in Tuscaloosa, but I was looking for something more interesting," Tom Cherones remembers. "When I started at University TV, my pay fell from about 80 cents an hour to 40 cents an hour." (more)

John Cochran

John Cochran is a consummate broadcast news reporter who has earned a reputation for fairness, accuracy, and objectivity. Now chief Washington correspondent for ABC NEWS, Cochran was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. He got his first broadcasting job as a student at The University of Alabama when Bert Bank (2000 Hall of Fame inductee) hired him to announce records and read the news at WTBC radio in Tuscaloosa. (more)

Betsy Plank

Betsy Plank might be called public relations’ First Lady. She was the first woman elected president of the Public Relations Society of America, and the first person to receive PRSA’s two top professional honors: the Gold Anvil as the nation’s outstanding professional and the Lund Award for exemplary civic and community service. At Ameritech she was the first female to head a company department, directing external affairs. (more)

Kathryn Tucker Windham

Alabamians consider her the state’s best storyteller. Public radio listeners consider her a best friend. They have found in her a loving companion who shares intimate, evocative memories of swimming holes, penny candy, eccentric neighbors, and lazy days spent counting buzzards and stamping gray mules. (more)