The Al Smith Award honors public service through community journalism by Kentuckians. Smith was the first recipient of the award.
This annual event is designed to honor its namesake: Albert P. Smith Jr., who owned weekly newspapers in Kentucky and Tennessee, was founding host of KET’s “Comment on Kentucky” and main founder of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.
In the spirit of its namesake, the dinner event was created in 2011 to honor good journalism for rural Kentucky communities. The celebration has grown to include the Tom and Pat Gish Award, recognizing student scholarship contributions and a keynote speaker.
In 2024, Campbell Robertson of The New York Times shared his unlikely path into career journalism, including being told his job at the Times would "never lead to becoming a Times reporter." He discussed some of his writing adventures and described life as a reporter as "the best job in the world. . . . It really is."
The event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Rural Journalism and the Bluegrass Chapter (KY) of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Bill Estep, who chronicled the stories of Appalachian Kentucky and its communities for more than 40 years, is the 2025 winner of the Al Smith Award for public service through community journalism by a Kentuckian.
Past award winners and their affiliations at the times:
- 2025: Bill Estep, 40 years of community journalism
- 2024: Bobbie Foust, lifetime western Kentucky reporter
- 2023: Ben Gish and Sam Adams, of The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky.
- 2022: Chris and Allison Evans, The Crittenden Press
- 2021: WKMS, the staff of the radio station at Murray State University
- 2020: Becky Barnes, the Cynthiana Democrat
- 2019: David Thompson, Kentucky Press Association
- 2018: Stevie Lowery, The Lebanon Enterprise
- 2017: Ryan Craig, Todd County Standard, and the late Larry Craig, Green River Republican
- 2016: Sharon Burton, Adair County Community Voice and The Farmer’s Pride
- 2015: Carl West, The (Frankfort) State Journal
- 2014: Bill Bishop and Julie Ardery, The Daily Yonder
- 2013: John Nelson, Danville Advocate-Messenger
- 2012: Jennifer P. Brown, Kentucky New Era; and Max Heath, Landmark Community Newspapers
- 2011: Al Smith