Wiley W. Hilburn
Encyclopedia
Wiley Wilson Hilburn, Jr. (born February 20, 1938), is a prominent journalist
in Ruston
, Louisiana
, whose communications career began in the late 1950s when he was a student at Louisiana Tech University
. In 1968, at the age of thirty, Hilburn returned to his alma mater to chair the Journalism Department and serve as director of the college news
bureau. Even while instructing budding journalists for some four decades, he continues to write a popular weekly column carried by Gannett in both the Shreveport Times and the Monroe News Star
. He retired from the university position after forty-one years on September 1, 2009.
In 1962, Hilburn, at twenty-four, became an editorial writer for the Shreveport Times, one of the youngest such writers in the nation. That same year, Patrick J. Buchanan, also born in 1938, began writing editorials for the former St. Louis Globe-Democrat
. Buchanan was, however, still twenty-three when he assumed his position in St. Louis
. Prior to his joining the Shreveport Times, the largest newspaper
in north Louisiana, Hilburn was the telegraph editor of the former Monroe Morning World (since merged into the News Star) of Monroe
, the seat of Ouachita Parish.
C. E. "Cap" Barham, an attorney
from Ruston who served during the Robert F. Kennon
administration from 1952–1956, the year that Hilburn graduated from Ruston High School
. The late Louisiana State Senator
Charles Clem Barham
of Ruston, who served twenty years from 1964–1972 and 1976–1988, was a cousin of Hilburn's.
Hilburn procured his bachelor's degree
in journalism from Louisiana Tech in 1960. While he was a student, he also worked for the Ruston Daily Leader, gained practical newspaper
experience, and became the editor of the Daily Leader. He thereafter received his master's degree
in journalism from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
.
hired Hilburn to "liberate the [college] newspaper," The Tech Talk, which had previously been a noncontroversial journal of mostly honor rolls and academic listings and failed to address student issues, such as the Vietnam War
, the civil rights movement
, and the sexual revolution
.
Hilburn named Stanley R. Tiner
, now editor of the Sun Herald in Gulfport
and Biloxi
, Mississippi
, as the Tech Talk editor. "We started printing hard news, , , , And we wanted the editorial page to be powerful. We rebuked the notion that the voice of the paper should be trivial," Tiner told the Monroe News Star.
Hilburn and Tiner then recruited Reginald Owens as the first African American
columnist of The Tech Talk. In a controversial defense of the Black Panthers, Owens recalled that Hilburn "taught me how I should temper [opinions], without changing my message." Hilburn named Owens the first black editor of the college newspaper. One night after naming Owens as editor, Hilburn saw a cross burning on his lawn. His first wife, Ellen, told him to call the police. He retorted, "That is the damn police." Owens now holds an endowed chair in the Tech journalism department and took over as head of the department in 2009 following Hilburn's retirement.
for the "Best Louisiana Column Award". In 1989, he received “Special Recognition” from then Governor Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
for "Twenty Years of Dedication to Louisiana Tech University". In 1993, he received the Louisiana Tech Alumni Foundation Award for Outstanding Teacher.
In 2001, Hilburn was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
, a relatively rare honor for a member of the media. Through 2007, only three other journalists—the Shreveport Times political cartoonist Pap Dean
, Iris Kelso of the New Orleans Times-Picayune
, and the late newspaper chain owner Sam Hanna
-- have been chosen for the Hall of Fame. John LaPlante, Jr.
, of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame on February 2, 2008.
Hilburn is the author of several books, including New Seasons (published in 2004, a retrospective on fifteen years of newspaper columns), Fragments (also the title of some past columns), and Reflections of North Louisiana.
On November 19, 2007, Hilburn published a column in the Shreveport Times which purports that former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco will be judged much kinder by history
than the difficult circumstances which followed Hurricane Katrina
. It was those difficulties that prompted Blanco not to seek a second term in the October 20 jungle primary
. Hilburn attended a bipartisan reception for Blanco at a country club
near his Choudrant home.
in southeastern Lincoln Parish near Ruston with his second wife, the former Kate Sartor (born March 5, 1949). He is the father of three children by his first marriage to the former Ellen Riser (born 1940), subsequently Ellen Lacroix of Baton Rouge. Gregory Todd "Greg" Hilburn (born January 21, 1962) is the chief political writer for the Monroe News Star, where Hilburn himself worked in the early 1960s. Greg Hilburn received his degree in journalism from Louisiana Tech in 1984. The other two children are Kevin Scott Hilburn (born 1963) and Anne Marie Hilburn (born ca. 1967), both of Ruston.
Hilburn's brother, Chester William "Chet" Hilburn (born 1945), also a Louisiana Tech graduate, is a retired newspaperman, having worked at the Houston Chronicle
, the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
, The Camden News
in Camden
, Arkansas
, and the defunct Shreveport Journal.
In 2009, shortly before his retirement, Hilburn underwent successful heart bypass surgery.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, whose communications career began in the late 1950s when he was a student at Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
. In 1968, at the age of thirty, Hilburn returned to his alma mater to chair the Journalism Department and serve as director of the college news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
bureau. Even while instructing budding journalists for some four decades, he continues to write a popular weekly column carried by Gannett in both the Shreveport Times and the Monroe News Star
Monroe News Star
The News-Star is the principal newspaper of Monroe and northeastern Louisiana. Its circulation area ranges over some dozen parishes from Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish, on the west, to Tallulah in Madison Parish on the east, to the Arkansas state line on the north, and to Ferriday in Concordia...
. He retired from the university position after forty-one years on September 1, 2009.
In 1962, Hilburn, at twenty-four, became an editorial writer for the Shreveport Times, one of the youngest such writers in the nation. That same year, Patrick J. Buchanan, also born in 1938, began writing editorials for the former St. Louis Globe-Democrat
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1852 until 1986...
. Buchanan was, however, still twenty-three when he assumed his position in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Prior to his joining the Shreveport Times, the largest newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
in north Louisiana, Hilburn was the telegraph editor of the former Monroe Morning World (since merged into the News Star) of Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, the seat of Ouachita Parish.
Early years and education
Hilburn was born in Ruston to Wiley Hilburn, Sr. (1913–2003), who operated a dry cleaners, and the former Marie Trussell (1912–2007), an educator who was once the principal of a one-room school in her native Antioch community near Ruston. The senior Hilburn was the brother-in-law of Louisiana Lieutenant GovernorLieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
C. E. "Cap" Barham, an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
from Ruston who served during the Robert F. Kennon
Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
administration from 1952–1956, the year that Hilburn graduated from Ruston High School
Ruston High School
Ruston High School is a 4 year public high school located in the Lincoln Parish School District of Ruston, Louisiana, United States. The school has an enrollment of approximately 1200 students with 85 faculty members; the mascot is the bearcat. The school colors are red and white. Black students...
. The late Louisiana State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Charles Clem Barham
Charles C. Barham
Charles Clem "Charlie" Barham was an attorney in private practice for thirty-nine years in Ruston, Louisiana, and a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 35, nonconsecutively, from 1964 to 1972 and 1976 to 1988.He was the older son of Lieutenant Governor C.E...
of Ruston, who served twenty years from 1964–1972 and 1976–1988, was a cousin of Hilburn's.
Hilburn procured his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in journalism from Louisiana Tech in 1960. While he was a student, he also worked for the Ruston Daily Leader, gained practical newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
experience, and became the editor of the Daily Leader. He thereafter received his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in journalism from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
.
The Tech Talk
Former Louisiana Tech President F. Jay TaylorF. Jay Taylor
Foster Jay Taylor, known as F. Jay Taylor , was a historian who served from 1962 to 1987 as the president of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston in Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana...
hired Hilburn to "liberate the [college] newspaper," The Tech Talk, which had previously been a noncontroversial journal of mostly honor rolls and academic listings and failed to address student issues, such as the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, and the sexual revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
.
Hilburn named Stanley R. Tiner
Stanley R. Tiner
Stanley Ray Tiner has since May 2000 been the executive editor and vice president of The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi. He previously served briefly as the executive editor of The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City and as editor of the Press-Register in Mobile, Alabama...
, now editor of the Sun Herald in Gulfport
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
and Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, as the Tech Talk editor. "We started printing hard news, , , , And we wanted the editorial page to be powerful. We rebuked the notion that the voice of the paper should be trivial," Tiner told the Monroe News Star.
Hilburn and Tiner then recruited Reginald Owens as the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
columnist of The Tech Talk. In a controversial defense of the Black Panthers, Owens recalled that Hilburn "taught me how I should temper [opinions], without changing my message." Hilburn named Owens the first black editor of the college newspaper. One night after naming Owens as editor, Hilburn saw a cross burning on his lawn. His first wife, Ellen, told him to call the police. He retorted, "That is the damn police." Owens now holds an endowed chair in the Tech journalism department and took over as head of the department in 2009 following Hilburn's retirement.
Honors
In 1983, Hilburn was cited by United Press InternationalUnited Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
for the "Best Louisiana Column Award". In 1989, he received “Special Recognition” from then Governor Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
for "Twenty Years of Dedication to Louisiana Tech University". In 1993, he received the Louisiana Tech Alumni Foundation Award for Outstanding Teacher.
In 2001, Hilburn was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
, a relatively rare honor for a member of the media. Through 2007, only three other journalists—the Shreveport Times political cartoonist Pap Dean
Pap Dean
Preston Allen Dean, Jr., known as Pap Dean was an American cartoonist who was employed from 1938 to 1979 as chief illustrator and editorial cartoonist for the Shreveport Times in Shreveport, the largest newspaper in North Louisiana...
, Iris Kelso of the New Orleans Times-Picayune
New Orleans Times-Picayune
The Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
, and the late newspaper chain owner Sam Hanna
Sam Hanna
Samuel Andrew Hanna, Sr., known as Sam Hanna , was a Louisiana journalist who owned and published three newspapers: The Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, the Franklin Sun in Winnsboro, and The Ouachita Citizen in West Monroe.-Early years and education:Hanna was born in Winnsboro, the seat of Franklin...
-- have been chosen for the Hall of Fame. John LaPlante, Jr.
John LaPlante
John Maurice LaPlante, Jr. , was a United States political columnist, news bureau director, and college professor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who spent more than three decades covering Louisiana state government and politics...
, of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame on February 2, 2008.
Hilburn is the author of several books, including New Seasons (published in 2004, a retrospective on fifteen years of newspaper columns), Fragments (also the title of some past columns), and Reflections of North Louisiana.
On November 19, 2007, Hilburn published a column in the Shreveport Times which purports that former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco will be judged much kinder by history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
than the difficult circumstances which followed Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. It was those difficulties that prompted Blanco not to seek a second term in the October 20 jungle primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
. Hilburn attended a bipartisan reception for Blanco at a country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
near his Choudrant home.
Family life
Hilburn resides in ChoudrantChoudrant, Louisiana
Choudrant is a village in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 582 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.Former U.S...
in southeastern Lincoln Parish near Ruston with his second wife, the former Kate Sartor (born March 5, 1949). He is the father of three children by his first marriage to the former Ellen Riser (born 1940), subsequently Ellen Lacroix of Baton Rouge. Gregory Todd "Greg" Hilburn (born January 21, 1962) is the chief political writer for the Monroe News Star, where Hilburn himself worked in the early 1960s. Greg Hilburn received his degree in journalism from Louisiana Tech in 1984. The other two children are Kevin Scott Hilburn (born 1963) and Anne Marie Hilburn (born ca. 1967), both of Ruston.
Hilburn's brother, Chester William "Chet" Hilburn (born 1945), also a Louisiana Tech graduate, is a retired newspaperman, having worked at the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
, the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
The Town Talk (Alexandria)
The Town Talk, started as The Daily Town Talk in 1883 and later named the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, is the major newspaper of Central Louisiana. It is published by Gannett in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the economic center of Central Louisiana.The daily newspaper has a circulation...
, The Camden News
The Camden News
The Camden News is a daily newspaper in Camden, Arkansas, which covers local news, sports, society, and business. It has a weekday circulation of 4,368.-Background:...
in Camden
Camden, Arkansas
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the southern part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Long an area of American Indians villages, the French also made a permanent settlement here because of its advantageous location above the Ouachita River. According to 2007 Census...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and the defunct Shreveport Journal.
In 2009, shortly before his retirement, Hilburn underwent successful heart bypass surgery.