The Iowa Broadcast News Association awarded Dave Vickers of Clinton the Jack Shelley Award at its annual convention on April 20th, 2024 in Johnston. The Shelley Award is the highest honor given by the IBNA.
After graduating from the journalism school at Iowa State University, where Jack Shelley was his advisor, Dave briefly worked as a farm reporter in Austin, Minnesota. He returned to Iowa in 1978 where he worked in the news department at KLEE radio in Ottumwa. In 1983 he made the move to KROS radio in Clinton and worked there until his retirement in April of 2022.
A strong supporter of open government, Dave served as president of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council for nine years. Dave says he was known as “the open meetings guy.” When covering local government meetings, such as the city council, the members sometimes asked him if they were “doing it right” when they closed a meeting to the public. He says he did have a few “run-ins” with city attorneys over the years about whether a local government meeting could be closed.
Along with his FOI work, Dave has also served Iowa’s broadcast journalists through the Iowa Broadcast News Association. He served for several years on the IBNA Board was twice elected as its president.
He is also a past member of the Iowa Broadcasters Association board and served as a liaison between the two groups.
During his lengthy career, Dave covered thousands of news stories. His advice to journalists: “Give each story the same amount of care no matter how big or how small the story is.”
Gary Determan worked with Dave, and said this in support of his nomination for the Shelley Award. “I found Dave to be very passionate about news coverage, often going the extra mile to get the story. He could be found at just about every meeting, from City Council to School Board, and other community events. In addition Dave also was instrumental in special programming at KROS from hosting “Legislative Review,” his “Saturday morning School Notebook” that featured activities outside of sports, and of course his coverage of elections, press conferences and special features. A true professional, I enjoyed working alongside Dave for nearly 40 years!”
Here is a link to an Archives of Iowa Broadcasting interview where Dave Vickers discusses his career.
https://youtu.be/EJ4ggwrnTp8
The 2024 IBNA Contest Results are now online.
IBNA names 2023 Jack Shelley Award Winner
Retired KCCI TV and Iowa Public Radio Journalist Rick Fredericksen was named the winner of the Jack Shelley Award at the annual Iowa Broadcast News Association convention on April 29th in Altoona. The Shelley Award is the organization’s highest honor.
Fredericksen is a graduate of Des Moines North High School. He began his career in the military where he learned the broadcast trade and was on the air at the Armed Forces Radio Network in Vietnam. That’s the network highlighted in the movie “Good Morning Vietnam.”
He returned to Iowa and the news department of what was then KRNT TV. The station became KCCI and Fredericksen was part of the first dual anchor team behind the Channel 8 news desk.
He left KCCI to take a job as a news anchor in Hawaii, he left there to become bureau chief for CBS News in Bangkok, Thailand. Fredericksen returned to Iowa once again where he joined Iowa Public Radio and worked there until his retirement.
The IBNA congratulates Rick Fredericksen, the 2023 IBNA Jack Shelley Award winner.
Watch an interview in the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting