Director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Thomas Hodson didn't go to law school to become an attorney.
He went to law school to become a better reporter.
Hodson, who graduated from Ohio University in 1970, enrolled in the Ohio State University Law School to further his career in journalism. But when he received an offer to work for Athens area attorney William Lavelle, Hodson began a professional path that would combine the roles of attorney, journalist and professor.
Hodson worked for Lavelle for six years before he decided to run for Athens County Municipal Court Judge in 1979. After defeating a 13-year incumbent to become the youngest elected judge in Ohio, Hodson entered office at age 31. He described the experience as ironic, since he had written about the judge's court when he was a staff writer for The Post.
In 1984, Gov. Richard Celeste appointed Hodson as a judge in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas, an office that he won in the November election. But Hodson remained focused on journalistic activities, such as writing op-ed pieces and hosting Legal Reminders
a telephone call-in show on WOUB. Hodson also spoke to various judicial groups on improving relations with the media.
At his first national speaking event in Denver, Hodson met the public information officer for the U.S. Supreme Court, who recommended he apply for a judicial fellowship. Hodson, who said he did not take the offer seriously, found an application on his desk when he returned. After a strenuous application and interview process, he was selected to spend a year working at the Supreme Court in 1986.
I thought 'Excuse me I'm a judge from Athens
Ohio - is this really happening?' Hodson said.
After resigning his judgeship in the Court of Common Pleas, Hodson went to Washington to work with newly appointed Chief Justice William Rehnquist. During his time at the court, he advised Rehnquist on issues affecting the court, handled administrative tasks and worked with the press corps. At the end of the fellowship, Hodson returned to private practice in Athens in 1987, continuing to travel and speak on court and media relations.
In 2000, Hodson left private practice to become director of the Mass Media Program at Marietta College. While there, he worked as visiting judge for the state, presiding over cases in which other judges had conflicts. After two years, he was invited to OU to become director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
Hodson met his wife Jan, the assistant dean of the Honors Tutorial College, when she was a paralegal in Lavelle's law firm, and he has a son and a daughter. In his spare time, Hodson does play-by-play commentary of Athens High School sports and Southern Ohio Copperhead baseball games for WOUB, and he writes sports articles for the Athens Messenger.
-Casey Westlake
17
Archives
Casey Westlake
200510032863midsize.jpg
From humble beginnings at The Post, to Supreme Court employee, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism director Tom Hodson understands the relationship between the mass media and the law.
