
The Director of the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications is getting not just one, but two honors this year from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
Dr. Steve Smethers is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Services Award, the Association’s highest honor, given annually for exemplary service to the community, state and broadcast industry. In addition, Smethers will be inducted into the Association’s Hall of Fame, alongside Dan Israel, the Executive Producer of the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network and Danny Thomas, President and General Manager of KOAM TV in Pittsburg.
Smethers began his radio career in 1968 as a reporter and part time disc jockey for KALN in Iola, working in various roles in programming, management and ownership in radio markets across Kansas and adjoining states. From 2006 to 2014, Smethers coordinated the Great Plains Radio History Symposium, highlighting the legacy of broadcasting in Kansas and the Midwest.
Smethers will be honored at the KAB’s annual convention in Wichita on October 3.