Awards

The Media School Distinguished Alumni Award - 2012

About Timothy A. Franklin

After a decade leading major daily newspapers, Timothy A. Franklin helped launch the IU School of Journalism’s National Sports Journalism Center on the Indianapolis campus, taking the project from idea stages to the debut of the nation’s first program offering a master’s degree in sports journalism. Now a managing editor at Bloomberg News, Franklin traces his success at the center and in newspaper leadership to his early work.

As with many alumni, his first experience was at the Indiana Daily Student, where he excelled. In 1981, Franklin won the Society of Professional Journalists' Barney Kilgore Award as the top college journalism student in the nation. After receiving his degree in journalism education in 1983, he joined the Chicago Tribune as a reporter. During 17 years, he rose through the ranks from assistant city editor to associate managing editor.

His first leadership role was as editor of The Indianapolis Star, which under his guidance won a national Polk Award for statewide reporting for an investigation into Indiana's services for mentally ill patients. Next, as editor and vice president of the Orlando Sentinel, Franklin led the staff to win more than two dozen national journalism awards. While he was editor at the Baltimore Sun, the newspaper was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting in 2007. Franklin also became a leader in the profession, especially in the area of open government. While at the Sentinel, he spearheaded what became “Sunshine Week,” the annual journalism observance that spotlights access to public information.

In 2008, Franklin returned to campus as the Louis A. Weil Jr. Endowed Chair at the School of Journalism, teaching classes and serving as director of the new National Sports Journalism Center, which prepares students for sports journalism careers.

Franklin joined Bloomberg News in 2011, where he is a managing editor in its Washington bureau.