Al Allen Inducted Into 2021 Class of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame

2021 Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame Inductee Al Allen, who retired from WJBK-TV in 2012.

On October 10, Al Allen, a radio and TV reporter on the streets of Detroit for 50 years, joined 6 other journalists with induction into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. The ceremony was held at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Conference Center.

Allen moved to Detroit from his hometown in Little Rock, Arkansas and started reporting at Mumford High School for their student broadcast. He has worked in both radio and television at stations in Little Rock and Detroit. Allen covered news in Detroit for almost five decades. He was with WJBK-TV for nearly three decades until his retirement in 2012.

During his career, Allen was recipient of many local and national awards including the United Press International, the Associated Press and the National Association of Black Journalists. He has earned a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and has been nominated for an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Other inductees include:

• • Joanne Gerstner, multiplatform sportswriter, educator, scholar, mentor and author
  • Tom Henderson, reporter of sports, science and tech, venture capital and banking
  • Jean Jennings, 40-year automotive writer, editor and teller of hilarious tales
  • Edward Lapham, news-breaking auto editor, leader and mentor to many
  • Marjorie Sorge, premier auto and labor writer; editor of two auto publications
  • Susan Whitall, music magazine editor, music historian, columnist and author

The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame was established to recognize those who have advanced the legacy of a free and responsible press and who have elevated journalism in Michigan. Induction memorializes extraordinary and clearly outstanding careers.

Co-sponsors of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame are the Michigan chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association; the Detroit chapter of the Association for Women in Communications; Central Michigan University’s Department of Journalism; the Detroit chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; the Detroit and Mid-Michigan chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists; the Detroit Press Club; the Individual Communicators Network; Wayne State University’s Journalism Program; the Michigan Association of Broadcasters; the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association; the Michigan Press Association Foundation; and the School of Journalism, Michigan State University.