The Atlanta Press Club inducted Atlanta Daily World Publisher M. Alexis Scott and the Scott Family into the inaugural class of its Hall of Fame on Sept. 22 in honor of their pioneering newspaper business.
The Atlanta Daily World, founded in 1928 by Alexis Scott’s grandfather, W.A. Scott II, was the nation’s first Black-owned daily newspaper and the first Black publication to receive credentials to cover the White House.
The other inductees include Henry Grady, editor of The Atlanta Constitution in the 1880s; Furman Bisher, former Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports editor and columnist; Tom Johnson, former president of CNN and former publisher of the Los Angeles Times; Ted Turner, founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting System; and John Pruitt, retired WSB-TV Channel 2 news anchor.
“We are really humbled by the recognition,” Scott said after receiving the award. “We feel like we have brought a special voice to the community, and not just to the African- American community but to the total community because we do have readers in all parts of the city, all parts of the metro-area, and we are grateful for that.”
Scott has served as publisher of the Daily World for the past 14 years, following a 22-year career with The Atlanta Journal and Constitution and Cox Enterprises.
When her grandfather was murdered at the age of 32, the Scott family rallied to sustain the business. “This tragedy encouraged a fierce commitment on the part of our family to pull together to continue the business, and that commitment remains true today,” said Scott.
Xernona Clayton, a pioneering civil rights activist and broadcast executive who founded the Trumpet Awards, presented the award to Scott and the family. She touted the Scotts’ business as ‘synonymous with leadership, action and success.’
“The Atlanta Daily World was one of the reasons why we started the Trumpet Awards – to talk about the accomplishments
and the successes of African Americans, and they so beautifully fit our mission,” said Clayton.
The leadership of the Atlanta Daily World has remained in the Scott family for 83 years, starting with the grandfather, then transferring to his brother, C. A. Scott, for 63 years, and continuing today with M. Alexis Scott. “It makes a great statement of the talents of this great family,” said Clayton.
With a five-member board composed of two generations of Scott family, Scott said the Atlanta Daily World’s mission is “to inform, to educate, to entertain and to inspire readers to be better, to do better, to have more and be more.”
The paper also has many writers and photographers that have worked closely with the Scott family over the years. “I’m so grateful to have that crew of people behind us because we stand on many, many shoulders,” said Scott.
The Atlanta Press Club held its inaugural Hall of Fame event at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead, recognizing six leaders in media in metro-Atlanta area. The Press Club’s Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who show journalistic integrity, and who have made a contribution to the Press Club or the State of Georgia.
Within recent years, the Daily World has continued to expand and evolve.
In 2009 three newsstands bearing its name have opened at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“As we have begun to grapple with this new world in the media. We are grateful to have the kind of partners that we have to open those three newsstands,” said Scott. “I remain encouraged and excited about our future because I know that we have more partnerships to come and greater opportunities to come.”
In addition to the inductions, the club also announced a $1 million gift from Atlanta businessman Charles Loudermilk to endow the Press Club’s television debate series.
It will be called the Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, in honor of Loudermilk and former Atlanta Mayor, congressman and UN Ambassador Andrew Young.