Tony Pederson

Tony Pederson holds the rank of professor and was the Belo Distinguished Chair in Journalism at Southern Methodist University for 17 years. In that position he chaired the Division of Journalism in the Meadows School of the Arts. Before assuming the Belo chair in June of 2003 he was senior vice president and executive editor of the Houston Chronicle.

His teaching at SMU focuses on media ethics, and he has written extensively on the subject and serves as a local resource for media in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He lectures and speaks frequently on mass media issues, especially relating to converging media. In the MLS program he teaches HUMN 6380: News Media in Contemporary Society.

He is a longtime activist in First Amendment issues and international press freedom issues, especially in Latin America. He was president of the Inter American Press Association in 1999-2000.

Pederson spent 29 years with the Houston Chronicle. From 1992 until 1994 Pederson served as chairman of Texas Media, a coalition of media groups formed to pursue access issues and open government in Texas. He has received the James Madison Award from the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas for his work on First Amendment issues and the Jack Douglas Award from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association for service to Texas newspapers. Pederson serves as a director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and the Inter American Press Association and is a member of the board of advisor for the International Center for Journalists. He also serves as a consultant for El Universal, the largest newspaper in Mexico City.

Pederson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism/communication from Baylor University and a Master of Arts in journalism from The Ohio State University.