Cal Poly Journalism to Celebrate Centennial and Honor “Weird Al”

Photo by Kyle Cassidy

Four-time Grammy-winning musical parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic will be inducted into Cal Poly’s new Mustang Media Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 15. The induction ceremony is part of the Journalism Department’s weekend-long “100 Years of Delivering the News” celebration.

Other inductees will include alumnus Bruce McPherson, former California Secretary of State; George Ramos, a Los Angeles Times journalist and former Journalism Department chair; and Robert E. Kennedy, who served as Cal Poly president from 1967 to 1979. Yankovic and McPherson will be honored in person; Ramos and Kennedy will be honored posthumously.

The honor is designed to recognize the accomplishments of extraordinary Cal Poly students, faculty and staff who have made vital contributions to the development and history of vibrant student media at Cal Poly.

Most of the centennial weekend’s festivities are free and open to the public, including a presentation by Susan Goldberg, editor-in-chief of National Geographic; the Innovation Showcase and Exhibit at the Kennedy Library; the Jim Hayes Symposium; and Reunion Get-Togethers on Friday, Oct. 14. The Mustang News Open House takes place on Saturday, Oct. 15.

The celebration concludes with the Spotlight Gala and Hall of Fame Dinner at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in San Luis Obispo on Saturday evening. Ben Bradlee, Jr., former deputy managing editor of the Boston Globe, will give the keynote address. Bradlee led the Globe’s 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning series on abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. His team’s investigation was the basis for the movie “Spotlight,” winner of the 2016 Academy Award for Best Picture.

For the full event schedule visit http://mustangnews.net/anniversary/event-schedule/

To register and purchase tickets for select events during the celebration, visit http://bit.ly/2azUByI