VESTAVIA, Ala. – Veteran newspaper man and journalism professor Steve Stewart, and Editor Taylor Beck will be honored at the 2020 Media Summit in Birmingham Feb. 7, 2020. Stewart will receive the Alabama Press Association’s (APA’s) Lifetime Achievement Award. Beck will receive the Emerging Journalist Award.
Stewart recently retired after a 37-year career in newspapers, followed by a 10-year stint teaching journalism at Troy University.
Stewart grew up in a newspaper family. His father purchased The Monroe Journal in 1947, and after earning a journalism degree from the University of Georgia and two years with the Atlanta Constitution, Stewart returned to Monroeville where he worked with his father as a reporter, editor and publisher.
When his father died in 1996, the family sold the paper to Bo Bolton, and Stewart accepted a job with The Decatur Daily. While there, he earned a master’s degree in journalism, and in 2009, began teaching at Troy University.
Stewart served as APA president in 1987 and served as president of the APA Journalism Foundation and the Alabama Newspaper Advertising Service.
He and his wife Patrice have two children: Matt and Emily.
The Emerging Journalist Award will be presented to Beck, managing editor of The Sand Mountain Reporter. He is also the editor of newspaper’s Land + Lake magazine.
The APA board established the award to recognize journalists, 30 years old or younger, with less than five years of experience in the field.
Beck is a native of Boaz and a 2016 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in journalism. He began his journalism career at WBRC Fox 6 News in Birmingham as a digital content producer. He joined The Sand Mountain Reporter in 2017.
Beck has won numerous APA Media Awards, including 2018 Best Spot News Story in Division C.
The awards will be presented during the luncheon at the APA Media Summit.
