Journalism alumni

Journalism alumni honored for achievement

  Four journalists were among 11 alumni honored in May by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Alumni Association.

  Marjorie Marlette, Donald T. Meier, Marjorie Mengshol and Emil Reutzel Jr., received Alumni Achievement awards at a banquet on May 14.

  Marlette, who graduated in 1944, is a retired reporter, author and expert on the corrections system. A staff writer for the Lincoln Journal for mare than 30 years, she covered government, politics prisons and the courts and was one of the first reporters in the U.S. to cover prisons in depth as a regular beat.

  She has served on the Nebraska Board of Corrections Compendium, a national magazine for corrections professionals. She is currently working on a book. She was named the first Nebraska Woman Journalist of the Year by Theta Sigma Phi and Woman of Achievement by the Nebraska Press Woman. She and her husband, Ralph, UNL professor emeritus of civil engineering, have a son and two daughters.

  Meier is the retired producer/director of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” A 1941 NU graduate, he was the first director of “Garroway-at-Large,” a show that is credited with creating the so-called Chicago School of Television. He was also associated with such early television shows as “Zoo Parade,” “Mr. Wizard” and “Quiz Kids.” He went on to create, produce and direct the nature/adventure show “Wild Kingdom,” the longest-running half-hour show in television history. Meier has been the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of his creativity and impact on the broadcasting industry and his influence on people’s attitudes toward the environment. He and his wife, Lorena, lice in Winnetka, Ill.

  Mengshol is a retired advertising executive. After graduating from the university in 1945, she worked as a reporter for the Lincoln papers and in retail advertising fro several Lincoln stores. She moved to New York in 1953 as creative director at Amos Parrish and Co. and was also advertising director of McCurdy’s and associate creative director and senior marketing executive at McCann-Erickson in New York. She returned to Lincoln in 1979 to become marketing editor at Magee’s.

  Retired since 1978, Mengshol has been active as president of the Lincoln Symphony Guild and Lincoln Arts Council. She received the Lincoln Advertising Club’s Silver Medal for community involvement.

  Emil W. Reutzel, Jr., is executive editor of the Norfolk Daily News, Serving the newspaper in a part-time capacity after more than 30 years as its editor.

  Reutzel’s studies at UNL were interrupted by World War II, and he later graduated from Northwestern University.

  He is a past editor of the Neligh News and a former assistant to the U.S. Civil Defense Administrator. He is a trustee and past chairman of the NU president’s Advisory Council. Reutzel has also served on the Wayne State College Foundation, the Advisory board of the Norfolk Lutheran Community Hospital and the Norfolk Industrial Action Committee. He and his wife, Chloe, has two daughters.