Halls of Fame

Mark Vittert- 2010

While Mark Vittert would never lay claim to being a working journalist, his influence on St. Louis media is legendary. Less than two years out of college, he sold his marketing company to Playboy Enterprises. When he got to St. Louis in 1977, he became an investor in Hartmann Publishing, owner of the Riverfront Times. A silent partner, Vittert provided the much-needed capital for the paper. Within two years, he was financing another weekly, teaming with two other men to give birth to the St. Louis Business Journal. Both papers became very successful and were ultimately sold to national chains. Through his financial backing and business guidance, Vittert created two of the market’s most successful specialty newspapers. Later, Vittert became co-owner of “St. Louis Magazine.” He also spent about 15 years as a member of the esteemed panel on KETC-TV’s “Donnybrook” program.

David Lipman – 2007

David Lipman’s career with Pulitzer Publishing spanned 37 years and included 14 years as managing editor of the Post-Dispatch and four years as chairman of Pulitzer 2000, exploring new media options. A graduate of the University of Missouri Journalism School, Lipman also worked as the paper’s assistant sports editor and news editor. His alma mater awarded him an honorary doctorate of humane letters in recognition of his outstanding journalism career. In addition, Lipman is a member of the Missouri Press Association Newspaper Hall of Fame and the Writers’ Hall of Fame of America.

Elijah Lovejoy – 2006

Elijah P. Lovejoy was an American journalist, ordained minister and abolitionist. in 1834 he joined the staff of the St. Louis Observer and was pastor of the Des Peres Presbyterian Church (the “Old Meeting House”). Afterwards, due to increased hostility toward abolitionists, Lovejoy left Missouri and became the editor of the abolitionist paper the Alton Observer in Illinois. Lovejoy’s printing press had been seized by pro-slavery mobs and thrown into the river on three different occasions. On November 7, 1837, pro-slavery partisans approached the warehouse where a new printing press had been hidden. Gunfire was exchanged, followed by an attempt to burn the warehouse where Lovejoy and others were barricaded. Lovejoy ran from the building to remove a ladder which had been raised to burn the roof, and was shot and killed. The new printing press was broken into pieces and scattered in the river. Lovejoy became a martyr in the abolition movement, and is buried in Alton Cemetery in Madison County, Illinois.

Bill Mauldin – 2009

Bill Mauldin won his second Pulitzer Prize while working as an editorial cartoonist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His first came in 1945 for his depiction of war through the eyes of dogfaced cartoon characters Willie and Joe. He was 23, the youngest person to win the prize. Mauldin characterized himself “as independent as a hog on ice,” but his work with Willie and Joe endeared him to the grunts of the war, though not necessarily with the high-ranking officers. He authored sixteen books and a series of commemorative postage stamps was issued in his honor in 1993.

Eric Mink – 2010

St. Louis-born Eric Mink joined the Post-Dispatch in 1977 and became its TV critic in 1979. In 1993, he accepted an offer to become television critic at the New York Daily News. Over some 25 years, Mink wrote more than 4,000 opinion columns, reviews, analyses, news stories and investigative reports that were distributed to newspapers throughout North and South America. His freelance articles were published by The New York Times, Time magazine, Atlantic Monthly, TV Guide and the Washington Journalism Review. Mink served for 15 years on the jury of the prestigious duPont-Columbia Awards for Radio and Television Journalism. He was a frequent guest on network, cable and local TV programs, a regular contributor to St. Louis radio shows and NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and his caricature appeared in a TV parody in Mad magazine. Mink returned to St. Louis in 2003 to edit the Post’s commentary page and write an often controversial op-ed column. In 2009, Mink left the paper and began teaching film studies at Webster University and offering writing and editing services to freelance clients. He is the author of “This is Today: A Window on Our Times,” published in 2003. (Howard Weissman photo)

Selwyn Pepper – 2011

Longtime Post-Dispatch reporter, editor and rewrite man Selwyn Pepper is credited with helping the newspaper win three Pulitzer Prizes for Public Service. He also was one of the co-founders of the St. Louis Jewish Light in 1963. In his first year as a full-time reporter at the Post-Dispatch in 1936, Pepper contributed to a voter-fraud investigation that resulted in a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. He also helped the paper win Pulitzers for stories on corruption in the Internal Revenue Bureau and for coverage of a Centralia, Ill., coal mine disaster in that killed 111 in 1948. Pepper served as city editor, features editor, news editor and reader’s advocate. He was a mentor to several generations of journalists.