Introducing DSA winner Bill McCloskey

Long time SPJ member and activist Bill McCloskey will be honored with the DC chapter's highest award, the Distinguished Service Award, at the 2008 Dateline Awards dinner June 10.

Here is an introduction to Bill.

Bill McCloskey

Until his retirement in April 2007, Bill McCloskey was for 20 years the Washington, D.C., based Director of Media Relations for BellSouth Corporation.

Before coming to BellSouth in 1987, Bill worked for 11 years with The Associated Press in Washington, first as assistant managing editor for its 1100‑station radio network and for the final two years as telecommunications reporter, covering the Federal Communications Commission, telephone and broadcast companies and legislation affecting communications issues on Capitol Hill.

He was assigned to cover the national political conventions in 1976, 1980 and 1984, participating in the logistical arrangements for each. From 1988 to 2004 he organized the BellSouth media hospitality lounges at the party nominating conventions.

He has also represented the corporation at international telecommunications conferences in Geneva and Rio de Janeiro.

Bill's professional career started in 1961, when, as a high‑school junior, he took a summer newsroom job at Metromedia's WIP Radio in Philadelphia. He remained with Metromedia in Philadelphia until he was drafted into the Army upon graduation from Villanova University in 1966.

Ironically, the Army assigned him to the information office of the 1st Signal Brigade in Vietnam where he wrote press releases about the Army's telephone system.

Following his tour of duty, he was assigned by Metromedia to set up a news department for WASH‑FM in Washington. From 1968 until 1975, he worked as news director, network correspondent and TV news producer and writer for Metromedia in Washington. During his tenure, he and his colleagues shared several major national broadcasting awards.

Away from the office, Bill has been the president and treasurer of the Little Falls Swimming Club in his Bethesda, Md., neighborhood and was chairman of his local Boy Scout troop committee. He is a member of the Radio‑TV News Directors Association where he has served on the organization's "Task Force 2000" and served on the advisory board of the Radio‑TV News Directors Foundation "News in the Future Project." Bill chairs the RTNDA Foundation’s annual fund-raising dinner. He is past president of the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, was the Society’s Region 2 director, currently serves as At-Large Director and is a former chairman and still a member of the SPJ's national By‑Laws Committee. He has twice been recognized with SPJ’s “President’s Award” for distinguished service to the Society.