UA Journalism Professor to be Recognized with Alma Mater’s ‘Alumni of Distinction’

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Matthew D. Bunker, Reese Phifer Professor of Journalism in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at The University of Alabama, will be one of six University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication graduates to receive recognition as an “Alumni of Distinction.”

Bunker will be presented with the award Saturday, May 6. He is the first person who received a doctorate from the UF college to be recognized as an alumnus of distinction. Including this year’s six, the UF college will have recognized only 91 of its more than 21,000 graduates in this manner.

Bunker was a practicing lawyer and working journalist before he became a professor. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in mass communication law and journalism at UA.

In 2003, Bunker received the Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression for his book, “Critiquing Free Speech: First Amendment Theory and the Challenge of Interdisciplinarity.” He also is author of the book “Justice and the Media: Reconciling Fair Trials and a Free Press.” He has written many academic articles on communication law and the First Amendment, and he is widely regarded as one of the pre-eminent First Amendment scholars among mass communication academics.

The College of Communication & Information Sciences at The University of Alabama is among the most prestigious communication colleges in the nation. C&IS consistently is ranked among the top 10 in number of doctoral degrees awarded and in many of its research programs. C&IS graduates have won four of the six Pulitzer Prizes awarded to UA alumni, and the forensics and debate squad, housed within the College, has garnered 14 national championships.