Monday, 11.03.2025
6:00 pm - 9:30 pm
InterContinetal Hotel Buckhead
3315 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
Five distinguished journalists will be inducted in the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame on Monday, November 3, 2025 during a ceremony at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta. The Hall of Fame dinner is Atlanta media’s biggest night of the year and recognizes journalists who have made a significant impact on journalism in Georgia and around the country. We hope you will join us!
2025 Inductees
Bill Nigut covered Georgia and national politics for WSB-TV for 20 years, traveling across the country to report on presidential primary elections, national conventions, debates and conducting one-on-one interviews with presidential candidates over five presidential election cycles from 1984 to 2000. He frequently reported from the White House and Capitol Hill as news took him to Washington, including covering the confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas, Newt Gingrich’s election as speaker of the house, the Clinton impeachment trial and more. In addition, he covered 18 sessions of the Georgia General Assembly. Bill subsequently spent more than nine years as the executive producer and host of “Political Rewind,” a daily political discussion program on Georgia Public Broadcasting, the state NPR network. In his final stop as a political journalist, Bill served as a host of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s political discussion program “Politically Georgia,” which aired on Atlanta public radio station WABE. He was inducted into the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2021, and in 2019 was an inductee into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences Silver Circle for “outstanding contributions to the television community” in the Southeast. Bill retired on January 31, 2025, and is currently teaching a course on the history of Broadway musicals at Emory University’s continuing education program.
Ernie Johnson Jr. is the iconic voice of TNT Sports, an eight-time Sports Emmy Award winner and long-time host of TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show. With Ernie as host, Inside the NBA received five Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Studio Show – Daily. In addition to his more than 35 years hosting Inside the NBA, he hosts TNT Sports and CBS’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship studio coverage (since 2011) and has been an integral part of MLB on TBS game and studio coverage since 2007. He also co-hosts (alongside Charles Barkley) “The Steam Room”, a weekly podcast covering sports news, pop culture, and entertainment. Ernie was inducted into the 2023 class of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Additionally, he was recognized as the 2021 “National Sportscaster of the Year” by the National Sports Media Association and previously received the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation “Award of Excellence.” Ernie is also a best-selling author with “Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments that Make Life Extraordinary.”
Jon Shirek was a revered Atlanta journalist who devoted more than 40 years to telling the stories of Georgia with clarity, compassion, and integrity. Jon was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and grew up there and in Melbourne Beach, Florida. Jon began his career while attending the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, working at The Independent Florida Alligator newspaper, WRUF-AM, and WTLV-TV in Jacksonville. After graduating in 1974, he began working full time at WTLV. In 1980, Jon moved to Atlanta and WXIA-TV 11Alive News, reporting for 43 years about people, events, and issues defining our times and affecting our future. His Emmy award-winning stories and sonorous voice earned him the newsroom nickname The Poet. He mentored many in the newsroom and was a steady presence during times of crisis and change. Jon retired from 11Alive in February 2024 and passed away on April 14, 2025. His passing marks the end of a remarkable chapter in Georgia journalism. His voice, character, and commitment to the truth leave a lasting imprint on the city he loved and the profession he served so faithfully.
Janis Ware and her father, the late J. Lowell Ware (1928–1991), are widely recognized for their transformative work in journalism and community development in Atlanta. J. Lowell Ware was a pioneering Black publisher and civil rights advocate who co-founded The Atlanta Inquirer and later established The Atlanta Voice in 1966. He used journalism as a tool for empowerment, founded multiple newspapers across the South, and co-created the SUMMECH Community Land Trust to revitalize underserved neighborhoods. Janis Ware continues this legacy as Publisher of The Atlanta Voice and Executive Director of SUMMECH Development Corporation. Under her leadership, the newspaper has evolved into a modern media platform, and SUMMECH has developed over 1,800 affordable housing units in Atlanta’s Mechanicsville community. A respected civic leader, she holds several board positions and has earned numerous awards for her contributions to media and community development. Together, the Wares have championed Black voices and community progress across generations.
When
Monday, November 3, 2025
Reception – 6 p.m.
Dinner and Ceremony- 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m
Where
InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta
3315 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Sponsorships
The Atlanta Press Club offers sponsorship opportunities and promotion for your company with this event. Please contact Paula Hovater at phovater@atlpressclub.org or 404-625-2882 for details and benefits.
R.S.V.P.
Individual tickets are $75 for members and $100 for nonmembers, or purchase tables of 10 with signage for $750 for members and $1,000 for nonmembers. Tickets may be purchased online. Please email info@atlpressclub.org table inquiries.
Business or cocktail attire preferred.
Not a member? Click here for more information.
