In recognition of his many contributions to religion reporting, the RNA Board voted to award Roy Larson the 2014 William A. Reed Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at a banquet on Sept. 20 during the RNA conference in suburban Atlanta, Ga.
Roy Larson’s lifetime achievements, including his life, work on the religion beat and success in beginning a joint religion and journalism program at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, can be found on the RNA website: https://rna.site-ym.com/?2014_lifetime_Larson.
About the Award
The William A. Reed Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 2001 and is presented to one individual each year who demonstrates exceptional commitment and service to Religion Newswriters Association and its members.
The award’s namesake, William A. Reed, was the first African-American president of the RNA, serving from 1976-78. He was also the first African-American to work full time for The Tennessean in Nashville, and one of the first African-Americans on the religion beat. W.C. Fields, a Southern Baptist Convention spokesman said of Reed, “I always felt that he was not only a good newsman, he was very sensitive to the implications of the stories he was writing.” Reed died in 1991.