About Don Ranly: Biography
Don Ranly, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of the Missouri School of Journalism where he taught for 32 years and was head of the magazine program for 28 years. He has an M.A. in journalism and an M.A. in speech from Marquette University, a certificate in film, radio and television from New York University and a doctorate in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Dr. Ranly worked as a newspaper reporter, a magazine editor, a weekly columnist, a radio host and a television producer, director and host. An author of articles and books on writing and editing, he has conducted more than 1,000 seminars for individual newspapers and magazines, corporations, associations and organizations of all kinds.
He is co-author of News Reporting and Writing (8th ed.), Telling the Story: The convergence of Print, Broadcast and Online Media (2nd ed.) and Beyond the Inverted Pyramid (all with Bedford/St. Martin's) and author of Publication Editing (Kendall/Hunt). He has compiled a book of readings The Principles of American Journalism (Kendall/Hunt).
In addition to teaching writing, editing and publishing courses at the Missouri School of Journalism, his academic areas included the principles and ethics of American journalism and General-Semantics.
In 1995, Dr. Ranly received a University of Missouri-Columbia Faculty-Alumni Award and was named the O.O. McIntyre Distinguished Professor of Journalism for 1995-1996. In 1998 he won a University of Missouri Gold Chalk award in honor of outstanding service in the training and mentoring of the professional students in his charge. In 1994, 1997 and 1998, the journalism faculty nominated Dr. Ranly for the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching, in 1996 and 1997, for the Byler Distinguished Professor Award, in 1999, for the Thomas Jefferson Award and in 2001, for the William T. Kemper Fellow for Excellence in Teaching award. In 2002, he was elected a Fellow of the International Association of Business Communicators. In 2003, he became a William T. Kemper Fellow for Excellence in Teaching. In 2005, Ranly received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Business Publications Editors. He is a member of the University of Missouri Jefferson Club.
Dr. Ranly conducts communication seminars on a large variety of topics, from basic grammar and effective writing to his innovative and popular courses in Refrigerator Journalism and Reinventing Print. He has helped plan new publications as well as re-tool and refuel existing ones.
He has prepared critiques for dozens of publications, first by marking the copy and then by discussing the publication on audiotape.
Dr. Ranly currently serves as Executive Director Emeritus and Board Member of the Missouri Association of Publications, which he founded in 2004.