ABC11 fund honors Larry Stogner ’69

With the support of ABC11 and its audience, the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media is proud to establish the Larry Stogner Fund for Excellence to support future generations of broadcasters.

The fund will allow the school to provide students opportunities to strengthen skills, sharpen reporting abilities and experience in-the-field broadcast production.

Stogner — a 1969 UNC graduate and a proud supporter of the UNC J-school — anchored his last broadcast for ABC11 WTVD Friday, Feb. 6. He announced Jan. 23 that he would retire due a diagnosis of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. 

Stogner has anchored the WTVD 6 p.m. broadcast continuously since 1982, making him one of the longest-serving anchors in the nation.

"The hallmark of Larry's career is serving the people of the Raleigh-Durham area with intelligence, integrity and tenacity," said Dean Susan King. "He represents the best in the business.

"This fund will ensure that his brand of local broadcast journalism is experienced and practiced by the generations of UNC J-school grads that follow him."

Stogner was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame, based in the school, in 2010. He was also inducted into the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters (NCAB) Hall of Fame in 2012. 

The Larry Stogner Fund for Excellence continues the relationship between ABC11 and the school. The station supports scholarship opportunities for students, and ABC11 president and general manager Caroline Welch serves on the school's Board of Advisers. Students intern at the station, and several graduates — including anchor and reporter Fred Shropshire — bring daily newscasts to the Triangle and beyond.

Consider a contribution to the Larry Stogner Fund for Excellence.