Gire named EIU Journalism Alumnus of the Year
Veteran Daily Herald Film Critic Dann Gire has been named Eastern Illinois University’s 2011 Journalism Alumnus of the Year and was honored at ceremonies Friday in Charleston.
Journalism Department chair James Tidwell described Gire as “one of the premier journalists in the Midwest.”
“Any time we call on him to speak at an event on campus or in other parts of the state, Dann always says ‘yes,’” Tidwell said. “He’s a heck of a speaker and a great film critic.”
Gire, 58, said the honor was unexpected and humbling.
“I seriously did not see it coming. It’s not even something I thought I was worthy of,” he said. “It’s always humbling to be recognized by your peers. This is one of the few times in my entire professional life that I’m at a loss for words.”
Retired journalism professor John David Reed first met Gire in 1972, while an adviser to the student newspaper, The Daily Eastern News.
“He was a scrawny, wiry — and wired — shooter (photographer),” Reed said. “And he learned all the great newspaper photographer habits — super work ethic, ceaseless nose for news, creativity in pursuit of same, absolute dedication to the task, perfect understanding of the most basic rule of newsgathering: You have to be there. Those qualities have served him well during a commendable career as a journalist, of course.”
Daily Herald Executive Editor Madeleine Doubek, a 1985 EIU journalism graduate who received the award in 2008, also praised Gire’s work.
“We’ve known Dann, a recent Editorial Employee of the Year, to be a leader and role model in our industry for many years now. We’re so pleased to see him recognized as such by Eastern Illinois University,” she said.
Gire grew up in Charleston, Ill., and after enrolling at EIU, worked as the Daily Eastern News’ sports editor, photography editor and co-editor-in-chief. In 1974, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication with a journalism minor, and then earned a master’s degree in speech communication in 1975.
He worked briefly as a reporter and photographer for the Casey, Ill., Daily Reporter but moved to Chicago in 1975 to join the Herald, which wouldn’t become a daily until 1978.
He started working stints as a government, crime and courts reporter, but for the past 33 years, Gire’s been the newspaper’s film critic.
In addition to his full-time work as a journalist, Gire is a contributing critic for “Ebert Presents at the Movies” on PBS, and teaches journalism at Aurora College. He previously taught journalism and advised the student newspaper at Harper College in Palatine.
Gire worked for three years as a film critic at Chicago’s Fox TV news, and he has amassed a long list of prestigious journalism awards. He is the president and a founding director of the Chicago Film Critics Association.