This Just In: APC Blog

Jay Smith, president of Cox Newspapers Inc., is retiring as of May 1, according to today’s AJC. Sandy Schwartz, will succeed Smith and retain his current title as president of Cox Auto Trader.

Smith has been climbing the Cox ladder since 1971, when he began as a reporter for the Dayton Daily News. After a seven-year run as publisher of the AJC, he’s been president of Cox since 1994. Congratulations and best of luck to Jay Smith!

However you pronounce it, there is no doubt you recognize the prestige of a Pulitzer Prize. The 2008 awards were anounced today and I am happy to say my hometown paper, The Washington Post, won six journalism awards, including for public service, breaking news reporting and commentary. The Boston Globe, The New York Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also won awards. Congratulations to all the winners, including Bob Dylan, who received a “special citation” from the Pulitzer board for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture.”

The Newseum, that is. The “new and improved” ode to all things media will officially open the massive doors to its 250,000-square-foot facility in Washington, D.C., next week, April 11. I for one am salivating at the opportunity to spend a few days trolling through the seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services, all detailing five centuries of news history. Visit the Newseum website for just a preview. I never visited the first incarnation but I had heard good things about it. This one sounds like quite the destination.

The University of Georgia’s College of Journalism and Mass Communication announced yesterday the winners of the 67th Annual Peabody Awards. Among the winners: two journalists wounded in Iraq covering the war — ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff and CBS News Sunday Morning’s Kimberly Dozier. Other honorees include NPR’s news quiz show, “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!,” Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report and NBC’s sitcom 30 Rock. The awards ceremony takes place June 16 in New York City and will be hosted by NBC anchor Brian Williams, who graced us with his presence live via satellite for the Press Club’s 2006 gala. Congratulations to the Peabody winners!