By Jay McWilliams
Co-Owner, HawaiiReporter.com
One of Hawaii's finest journalists, University of Hawaii
Professor Beverly Ann Deepe Keever, is being inducted into the
Society of Professional Journalists' Hall of Fame this month, an
honor she well deserves.
Her background as a working journalist is not the only reason she
is qualified to receive this tribute. For a quarter of century,
Professor Keever's passion for open records and holding the
government accountable have been at the core of her teaching at
the university. Several generations of journalists in Hawaii have
benefited from her dedication to these causes and have joined the
fight for open records in the crusade for freedom of information.
Nearly 20 years ago I was a student in Professor Keever's
legendary Public Affairs Reporting class. I had no idea how
relevant her teaching would be for me, as I now co-own an online
newspaper, HawaiiReporter.com, in which we collect and publish 20
kinds of public records weekly. I truly got my money's worth for
the cost of my education when you consider that Professor Keever
continues to be an amazing mentor, always there to offer guidance
and share her experiences where journalism issues are concerned.
In 1958, Professor Keever graduated with honors from Columbia
University's Graduate School of Journalism. Four years later, she
went to Vietnam as a free-lance writer and stayed for seven
continuous years, covering the war longer than any other Western
correspondent. When she went to Vietnam, she had no job and
started stringing for a variety of publications including the
London Daily Express and the London Sunday Express. From 1962 to
1964, she worked as a stringer and sole resident correspondent in
South Vietnam for Newsweek. After that she worked for the New
York Herald-Tribune and the Christian Science Monitor. She also
did free-lance writing for the Washington Post, Newsday, The
Economist, Parade and Cosmopolitan.
Her resume is impressive and filled with such noteworthy
accomplishments as research endeavors, presentations, academic
and community services and awards, all on both the local and
national levels. She has written books and articles on such
topics as sexual harassment, coverage of racial minorities,
newsroom and reporting issues, and, her favorite, freedom of
information.
Professor Keever is the perfect choice to become this year's
inductee in SPJ's Hall of Fame as she epitomizes all the
qualities that should define a professional journalist: a
hard-working professional who is dedicated to finding and
reporting the truth, with an unwavering focus on keeping public
records open and government officials accountable for their
actions.