John Craig Flournoy (born June 26, 1951 in Shreveport,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, USA) is a

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

and a former

investigative reporter Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

for ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

'', at which his work included coverage of the latter portion of the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

. He has taught since 2014 at Cincinnati. From 2003 to 2013, he taught at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

, where in 1986, he received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in history. He formerly taught courses on computer-assisted reporting, investigative reporting, history of American journalism, and communication law briefly at the

. From 1997 to 1998, while on leave from ''The Dallas Morning News'', he was the Phillip G. Warner Professor of Journalism at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Education

Flournoy obtained his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in history with honors from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

in 1975, his master's in history from SMU in 1986, and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in journalism in 2003 from the Douglas Manship School of Mass Communications at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

in Baton Rouge.

Career

Prior to his work as ''The Dallas Morning News'', Flournoy worked as a reporter and columnist from January 1977 to December 1978 for the since defunct '' Shreveport Journal'' under the editor

Stanley R. Tiner Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

. At ''The Journal'' Flournoy and Bill Keith investigated the office of

Webster Parish Webster Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Webster'') is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. As of the 2010 census, the Webster Parish population was 41,207. In 2018, the p ...

Sheriff O. H. Haynes Jr., and the police department in Springhill for corrupt practices. The reporters alleged that the two departments had covered up cases of prostitution, ticket-fixing, stolen bond money, and narcotics violations. Investigations by chief criminal sheriff's deputy T. C. Bloxom Jr., and Mayor M. A. Gleason, Jr., of Springhill uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing. Haynes rose from his hospital bed in Shreveport, where he was undergoing treatment for

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

, to deny all allegations. It was noted that ''

The Shreveport Times ''The Times'' is a Gannett daily newspaper based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its distribution area includes 12 parishes in Northwest Louisiana and three counties in East Texas. Its coverage focuses on issues affecting the Shreveport-Bossier mar ...

'' was, meanwhile, preparing a story on the lower crime rate in Webster Parish compared to other nearby locations. The investigations ultimately cleared Haynes. State Attorney General William J. Guste returned no

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of a ...

in the case."Guste returns no indictment in Springhill case", ''Minden Press-Herald'', October 25, 1977, p. 1 Flournoy's works have appeared in ''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, an ...

'', '' Journalism & Mass Communication Educator'' and ''The Newspaper Research Journal''.

Awards and honors

Flournoy has won more than fifty state and national journalism awards, including the Scripps Howard

Edward J. Meeman Edward John Meeman (October 2, 1889 – November 15, 1966) was an American journalist and editor. Biography Meeman was born in Evansville, Indiana.Ed FrankEdward John Meeman Tennessee Encyclopedia. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I, a ...

Award for Environmental Reporting and eleven Dallas Club Katie awards, five of which were for investigative reporting.

Family

Flournoy and his wife, Nina P. Flournoy (born June 11, 1954), have three daughters. Mrs. Flournoy is a senior lecturer at Southern Methodist University.

References

External links