Three Inducted Into St. Louis Media Hall Of Fame

Honors Trio

Legendary broadcasters, newspaper publishers, a noted editorial cartoonist, and ground-breaking advertising and public relations executives are among 15 new inductees into the ST. LOUIS MEDIA HALL OF FAME. The honorees, each of whom has had a significant impact on the ST. LOUIS media front, were selected by the ST. LOUIS MEDIA HISTORY FOUNDATION’s 17-member board of directors from among more than 90 nominees.

The new members will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on MONDAY, MARCH 16th, in the City-View Ballroom at ST. LOUIS CITY CENTER HOTEL, 400 South 14th Street, ST. LOUIS, MO. Doors will open at 5:30p, with the induction ceremonies starting at 6:45p.

This year's radio inductees are:

• RICK BALIS – As PD of KSHE since 1979, BALIS has kept the station viable and at the forefront of ST. LOUIS rock radio. BALIS started working at KSHE in 1976 and was promoted to an on-air shift as the afternoon drive time DJ in 1977. Except for a brief stint at KSD, BALIS’s continuous service to KSHE’s owner EMMIS BROADCASTING has earned him national recognition. He was named Radio and Records Magazine's 2008 Rock OM/PD of the Year. BALIS is VP/Dir. Programming for the EMMIS/ST. LOUIS-owned stations.
• BOB BURNES – "The Benchwarmer" was the first host of KMOX’s Sports On a SUNDAY, the hugely popular roundup of the previous week’s sports highlights. In addition, he was a host several times per week of the station’s Sports Open Line call-in show. BURNES often shared the microphone with other sports reporters on the show, which he hosted through the mid-1980s. In addition to his long stint on KMOX Radio, BURNES was a legendary sports reporter and columnist for the ST. LOUIS GLOBE-DEMOCRAT.
• BOB WHITNEY – The national PD for the BALABAN RADIO stations, WHITNEY came to ST. LOUIS and built WIL into a great pop station in the late 1950s, hiring some of the best on-air talent the market ever had. They included DAN INGRAM and RON LUNDY, who went on to become top DJs in NEW YORK CITY. WHITNEY was instrumental in introducing music television (years before MTV) with the show “The Now Explosion,” which aired locally on KDNL-TV."

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