The department of journalism will present two of its top awards Thursday, the Silver Em and the Golden Em, during a program and reception at the Oxford-University Club.
Jim Abbott, editor and publisher of the weekly newspaper Indianola Enterprise-Tocsin, will receive this year's Silver Em award.
"I think Abbott is just an exemplar of the community editor, since my opinion has always been that it is tougher to be an editor with integrity in Indianola than Chicago, because in Indianola, you have to be face to face with the people you write about all the time," Department of Journalism Chair Stuart Bullion said.
Abbott, who began his newspaper career in high school, is a native of Greenwood and earned both bachelor's degrees in business administration and journalism from Ole Miss.
Abbott said he enjoys everything about his field, most of all doing in-depth and investigative reporting.
He said he decided to stay in Mississippi because of a professor who taught him in graduate school, Sam Talbert.
"He convinced most of us that we should stay in Mississippi," Abbott said. "He said if you are in a smaller town that he would guarantee that we would have an impact on the people."
Abbott said the biggest difference between working for a daily newspaper and a weekly one is that he does not have access to wire services. The coverage at weeklies is almost entirely local, he said.
"It's very readable," Abbott said. "It does make weekly newspapers full of news that people really like to read because it's about them and their neighbors."
Aside from Abbott, former executive editor of The Clarion-Ledger and former Ole Miss Kelly Gene Cook Chair of Journalist John Johnson will posthumously receive an honor not given for almost 20 years.
Johnson, who died September 2002, will be given the Golden Em award, given by the journalism department to recognize excellence in journalism education.
"John Johnson didn't take long to establish himself as one of the best professors our department has known," Bullion said.
"He brought his professional experience in. I've looked at some of his class notes for the courses they taught, and they make great reading because of all the examples that he was able to bring."
Johnson's widow, Becky, will accept his award tonight.
She said the thing her husband loved the most was having students over to the house to talk about stories and staying in touch with students after they graduated.
"I think the most important thing was that he made a difference in the journalism department and inspired students," Johnson said.
"It gave him that hunger and drive for journalism that he loved. He was just very proud to just be part of the journalism department."
She said she also thought her husband would be very honored to be included in the same category as his professor and mentor, Talbert.
Tickets for the reception cost $40 and can be obtained by calling 915-7146.
The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. and be followed by a program and dinner.
