Former Herald-Leader editor named to class of 2024 Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame
Former Lexington Herald-Leader editor and general manager Peter Baniak is one of seven journalists in the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame class of 2024.
The class of journalists was unveiled March 1 by the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media alumni board. They will be inducted into the hall of fame during a ceremony at the UK Gatton Student Center at 6 p.m. April 9.
“I’m humbled and honored to be included in the 2024 class of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame,” Baniak said. “I am deeply grateful that I’ve been able to work alongside so many legendary Kentucky journalists at the Herald-Leader over nearly three decades.
“Their journalism has a real impact in the community and the commonwealth we all call home, and I’m proud that this work continues to make a difference in Kentucky.”
Baniak joined the Herald-Leader in 1995 as Lexington city hall reporter, having previously worked as a reporting intern, and gradually worked his way up through the newsroom ranks.
During his time as metro editor, Baniak led the newsroom’s coverage of the 2006 Comair plane crash that killed 49 people at Blue Grass Airport.
Baniak was named editor of the Herald-Leader in 2009 and served in the expanded role of editor and general manager for the newspaper beginning in 2018, following the departure of publisher Rufus Friday.
“No one has contributed more to the Herald-Leader’s newsroom, and to the careers of the people who’ve worked here,” said Tom Caudill, former Herald-Leader managing editor who worked with Baniak from 1995 to 2017.
“His impact on journalism in the state has been enormous, from his leadership of the Herald-Leader to his presidency of the Kentucky Press Association. I’m thrilled his work is being recognized,” Caudill said.
In early June 2023, Baniak was promoted to McClatchy’s vice president of news for small and medium markets. McClatchy is the parent company of the Herald-Leader and about 30 other U.S. media properties.
Baniak was succeeded by Richard A. Green in September.
“Under his leadership as editor since 2009, the staff has won numerous awards for exceptional journalism, including nine McClatchy President’s Awards. In January, the Herald-Leader was once again selected First Place General Excellence by the Kentucky Press Association,” Robyn Tomlin, McClatchy’s chief news officer, said in a prepared statement at the time of Baniak’s promotion.
Baniak was also president of the Kentucky Press Association from January 2018 to January 2019.
Rev. Paul Prather, a former business reporter and current religion columnist at the Herald-Leader, also is part of the 2024 class, along with journalists:
- Betty Winston Baye, a national leader among African American journalists who previously worked for the Louisville Courier-Journal
- Deborah Taylor Givens, former journalism professor and department chair at Eastern Kentucky University
- Elizabeth “Scoobie” Ryan, a retired journalism professor at UK who headed the journalism sequence in the UK School of Journalism and Media
- Sheldon Shafer, retired reporter who wrote about 25,000 stories in 44 years at the Courier-Journal
- The late Kyle Vance, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter with the Courier-Journal.
“For many years, Paul Prather has brought us his insights and insider perspective to religion and its many related topics. His induction into the Hall of Fame is well deserved and welcome,” said Herald-Leader columnist Linda Blackford. “His distinct and valuable voice helps his readers through the many complicated issues we face today.”
As part of the ceremony, Al Cross, a UK journalism professor and 2010 hall of fame inductee who founded the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, will give the Joe Creason Lecture in Journalism.
The ceremony is free and open to the public.
The Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame was created in 1981 by the UK Journalism Alumni Association. More than 200 individuals, both with and without formal ties to UK, have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
