ALUMNI NEWS
Jenkins Receives Double Honors: an Emmy and is Named a National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame Inductee
J ohn Jenkins (Delta Sigma 1970) has been inducted in the Emmy’s Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sci- ences. He is part of an elite group of professionals recognized by the Lone Star Emmy Chapter in Texas. He was also inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame. On these solid notes, he has retired after 46 years in television. “I was flabbergasted,” he said. “I am so honored because I never think about awards. I do what I do, I did
what I did because it was the right thing to do. I take care of people and now that I am out of the newsroom I am not out of the lives of those I mentor.” Jenkins has helped shape television news coverage throughout the Lone Star State since 1968. His life story began in Hitchcock, Texas, just 15 miles from Galveston. Jenkins was one of 11 children. “There was always plenty of food, plenty of clothing and my folks believed in work… there was always plenty of work,” said Jenkins in a 2016 interview. Jenkins cherished reading as a child and was encouraged by his family with daily book reports before dinner. Jenkins persevered in education de- spite feeling the sting of racial segrega- tion. “White people told Black people what to do and only allowed them to do so much,” said Jenkins. “If there
were White people walking down the sidewalk, there were black people who would step off.” Jenkins attended North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) with dreams of being a Pulitzer- winning writer. He was on a campus stroll when sportscaster Bill Mercer persuaded him to look into broadcasting. Soon there was a job posting at KRLD- TV (now KDFW) in Dallas. “The job was posted a week after the FCC said that radio and TV stations needed to reflect the communities that they serve,” said Jenkins. He became a newsroom trainee and was among the first African American journalists hired in the Dallas/ Fort Worth market. Later, Jenkins became a full-time pho- tographer at WFAA-TV. It was during an interview with a woman who had lost
her father in a police-involved shooting, that he realized his calling. “I was on a medium shot and I just moved [the camera] in a little bit and she looked at me,” said Jenkins. “She said ‘my dad is gone. They said he had a gun. I don’t know, I don’t care. I don’t have a dad anymore’. I just held that shot on her face. Tears came down and I was behind the camera crying. And at that moment, it was ‘oh my goodness, this thing [camera] was powerful’.” After years on the streets, meeting Presi- dents and celebrities and covering fires and weather, Jenkins moved into news management at KDAF-TV in Dallas. A News Director role in Tyler followed. Management roles at KHOU-TV in Houston and KDFW-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth followed.
Jenkins is a champion of diversity, both
Publishing achievement for more than 100 years
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