Director of Kent State Student Media, Kevin Dilley, has been named one of the top 25 media leaders in the U.S. over age 50 by Editor and Publisher. Calling themselves, “The Authoritative Voice of #NewsMedia Since 1884” E&P is an industry trade publication with a monthly print and digital audience of more than 170,000. Their awards are considered some of the industry’s most prestigious in the journalism industry.
Dilley, who was nominated by the Director of the School of Media and Journalism, Emily Metzgar, shared the award with locally and nationally recognized names such as Mike Allen co-founder of Axios, and Jana Collier, Publisher of Cox First Media in Dayton, Ohio which includes the Dayton Daily News.
“Getting this award means a lot to me personally. It’s certainly nice to be recognized by the likes of E&P,” said Dilley. “The best part is knowing that I share this will all the students, mentors, and colleagues I’ve encountered in my career. They’ve helped me be the best version of myself.”
Dilley, 52, started his career in the news as a teen delivering his hometown weekly newspaper, The Canton Observer. He graduated from the University of Missouri, with a bachelor’s in journalism. He also received a master’s in visual communication from Ohio University. Dilley went on to spend more than two decades working and teaching in the journalism field before being hired at Kent State.