Timothy D. Smith, Kent State professor, lawyer and journalist, dies at 79

As an award-winning journalist at the Akron Beacon Journal, he led the newsroom to excellence. As a leading attorney in media law, he fought for First Amendment rights. As a professor at Kent State University, he shaped generations of young minds.

Timothy D. Smith, an influential figure in Ohio journalism, law and education for over 50 years, died Monday after a long illness. He was 79.

The Cleveland native arrived at the Beacon Journal in September 1967 after working at United Press International, the Painesville Telegraph and Columbus Dispatch. In Akron, he held many titles over two decades, including general assignment reporter, county government reporter, investigative reporter and assistant state editor.

He was promoted to metro editor in 1977, assistant managing editor in 1980 and managing editor in 1984.

“Tim was a very smart guy and a very good editor,” recalled former Managing Editor Scott Bosley. “He was a demanding editor, but he also built a tremendous rapport with the reporters who worked with him, pushing them to do better and praising when there was a big success.”

Bosley said Smith was also a good recruiter.

“He knew good journalism and hired good people, and he was good at guiding people who were right out of school,” he said.

Former Beacon Journal Managing Editor Doug Oplinger, who worked with Smith for more than 15 years, described Smith as “a great mentor and a great boss.”

“He would take time to talk to you about things you could do differently,” he said. “You would hear him on the phone at times going after public officials who were going after reporters. He would make incredible cases to defend the journalism and defend the reporters.”

Oplinger recalls the sticker that Smith affixed to his IBM Selectric typewriter in the newsroom: “BE ALERT. THE WORLD NEEDS MORE LERTS.”

“I have remembered that forever,” he said.

Charlene Nevada, who joined the Beacon Journal as a reporter in 1970, recalls the impact of Smith’s in-depth investigative series on nepotism and dysfunction in Summit County government.

“They printed all his stories in a booklet afterward,” she said. “It was required reading, more or less, for any new county reporter.”

Her favorite memory of working with Smith involved the deadly tornado that struck Xenia in 1974.

“The Beacon wanted to send reporters there, but it was late afternoon and the business office was closed and there were no ATMs then,” Nevada said. “They wanted to fly them there; the owner of the private jet only would accept cash. The weather was really uncertain. The storms were blowing our way.

“Nobody knew where on earth to get several hundred dollars in 1974. Tim walked into the back shop because he knew one of the printers was a bookie. He walked out with a wad of cash and the reporters were on their way.”

Smith balanced a full-time job with family life. He and his wife, Jane, raised three children, Randy, Rachel and Bryan, in Stow.

“He knew everybody’s family’s names,” Oplinger said. “He knew what was going on in their families and was always talking about family.”

Smith, who held a 1965 bachelor’s degree and 1971 master’s degree from Ohio State University, impressed his colleagues when he went back to school and earned a law degree from the University of Akron in 1977. He used his expertise to defend journalists and help the Beacon Journal navigate complicated legal situations.

When he began teaching part-time at Kent State in the early 1980s, his class on media law became a favorite among journalism students.

Smith resigned from the Beacon Journal in 1986 to become a full-time journalism professor at KSU. President Michael Schwartz personally arranged the offer, citing Smith’s work experience: “That is the level of expertise we’d like to have in all of our professions.”

“The offer was just made in a way that I couldn’t turn it down,” Smith explained. “It was something I couldn’t pass up.”

Barbara Hipsman, emeritus associate professor, who started at KSU in the fall of 1987, said Smith was “a big force” in the journalism school.

“Tim was an imposing figure at Kent State inasmuch as he was a journalist with a law degree,” she said. “There was no getting around the fact that he knew how things ran and how things were supposed to run.”

Smith taught media law and news reporting and served as adviser to the Daily Kent Stater. He was acting director of Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications from 1991 to 1994.

And he dispensed plenty of legal advice. Several times a week, students stopped by Smith’s office to ask for assistance. The teacher-student dynamic transformed into a lawyer-client one.

Hipsman remembers one student who had been charged with drunken driving, although the parked vehicle wasn’t running.

“But, Tim, I was just sitting in the car and sleeping,” he said.

“Were your keys in the ignition?” Smith asked.

“Well, yeah.”

“That’s where you were wrong. You can’t sit in your car drunk with the keys in the ignition. Now if you had put them on the floor, you’d have been OK.”

Hipsman said Smith never charged the students.

“I swear he covered their court costs,” she said. “He was very careful to let them know that personal responsibility is important.”

Jeff Fruit, former director of the journalism school, also remembered Smith doing pro bono work for students.

“There were times where he not only got them out of jail but put up the bail, too,” he said. “He was really willing to step up and help students who needed it.”

Fruit said Smith was “a real original” and a great leader in the classroom.

“He was just an outstanding lecturer,” he said. “He kept the class engaged. His depth of knowledge, particularly as it related to the First Amendment and free press, was pretty unique.”

Smith served as a newspaper consultant, an expert witness in media law cases and as a lecturer on issues regarding media relations, libel, invasion of privacy and public records. On the state level, he led continuing education seminars for the Ohio Bar Association.

Smith established the Ohio Center for Privacy and the First Amendment at Kent State and was a founding member of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

During a leave from KSU in 1991, Smith served as a law clerk for Ohio Supreme Court Justice Craig Wright. During another leave in 2003, he worked in the Portage County Public Defender's Office and represented indigent clients in court.

The Buckeye Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists presented him with the John S. Knight Award for excellence in 1996. The Kent State University Alumni Association gave him a Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000.

“I’ve enjoyed work here immensely,” Smith said after announcing his retirement in 2012. “It’s been a great place to work.

Not one to rest for long, Smith accepted an appointment as full-time public defender.

His health had declined over the past year, and he spent a lot of time in hospitals. Many online tributes were posted on Caring Bridge when he began hospice care.

“Thank you for being such a strong educator and dedicated professor — you touched the lives of many, and you definitely helped shape the futures of many journalists,” Kristin Synowka Wolfrum wrote.

“To say I became a better journalist because of him would be an understatement; everyone who had the honor of learning from him was made better for it,” Megan Moravcik Walbert noted.

“Clearly you have made a huge impact on so many,” Melanie Higgins wrote. “You are one of the many reasons I remember my time at Kent with fondness.”

Smith died early Monday at Heather Knoll in Tallmadge.

“Tim is at peace,” his wife, Jane, posted online. “He slept all day and gradually slipped away from us about 4 a.m. Thank you for all your stories. Tim heard them and loved them. And his family is comforted reading them.”

Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at United Methodist Church of Kent, 1435 E. Main St. Calling hours will be 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the church parlor and afterward in Pierson Hall. A light luncheon will be served.

The family is setting up a memorial scholarship to be given to nontraditional students at the University of Akron’s School of Law. Checks can be sent to: Timothy D. Smith Scholarship, The University of Akron School of Law, 150 University Ave., Akron, OH 44325-3901. Attn: Andreas Ellis

To give online, go to https://www.uakron.edu/law/giving

Smith’s legacy will continue.

“It always made me feel good when I’d be talking to Kent State students,” Oplinger said. “Almost invariably, Tim Smith’s name would come up. He had a presence in the Beacon Journal newsroom, but clearly he had a presence at Kent State that went through the ages with students.”

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com 

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Timothy D. Smith, professor, lawyer and journalist, dies at 79