Five alumni chosen for 2026 UFCJC Hall of Fame
The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) will induct five alumni into the College’s Hall of Fame at its annual awards ceremony on April 10, 2026. Established in 1970 to recognize alumni who have excelled in their careers, the Hall of Fame has only honored 191 alumni out of approximately 35,000 graduates.
The 2026 Hall of Fame class includes:
Jamie Dupree, B.S. Broadcasting 1985
Dupree is a reporter on Capitol Hill who writes a daily newsletter about Congress. He started his broadcasting career in 1983 at WUFT-FM and his first radio job was playing jazz music from 1-5 a.m. He later hosted a blues music show on Saturday nights, which drew letters from inmates at the Florida state prison in Starke. Dupree’s original goal was to be a sports play-by-play announcer, but he quickly shifted to news at UF
After graduating in 1985, Dupree worked at two small AM radio stations outside Washington, D.C. and then worked for a small freelance news bureau on Capitol Hill. He got his big break in 1989, when he was hired by Cox Broadcasting, a large TV and radio group based in Atlanta.
Dupree spent the next 32 years in that radio job, covering news from Washington and the campaign trail. He was a familiar voice in Atlanta, Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, Los Angeles, Dayton, Ohio, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dupree was also heard on talk radio, becoming a regular guest with Neal Boortz, a regional talk show host in the South, and nationally with a daily segment on Sean Hannity’s radio program.
Unfortunately, life intervened in 2016, when an unknown medical issue took Dupree’s voice. As he describes it, the wires between his brain and his mouth got crossed. His voice won’t work right, no matter how hard he tried. In an effort to keep him on the radio, a company in Scotland developed an artificial intelligence text-to-speech voice, which he used for several years on the radio. The voice was dubbed ‘Jamie 2.0.’
After the 2020 election, Dupree’s time with Cox came to an end. Retirement was not an answer. So, he created the ‘Regular Order‘ newsletter, giving subscribers a daily, behind-the-scenes look at news on Capitol Hill. Working daily from the U.S. Capitol, Dupree also does freelance work for the Dayton Daily News newspaper in Ohio.
Eric Esteban, B.S. Journalism 2006
Esteban is Vice President of Media Relations for FOX Sports and Director of Media Relations for FanDuel Sports Network. He is a public relations and communications executive with more than 15 years of experience shaping media strategy and storytelling for some of the nation’s most prominent sports networks and organizations. He has been based at FOX Sports in Miami since January 2022 covering high-level communications across the network’s NFL and premier soccer properties, including leading PR team efforts for the network’s recent award-winning presentations of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix and Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
After graduating from the UF with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a minor in Latin American Studies, Esteban earned his Master’s in Public Administration from FIU. He began his career as a sports journalist, reporting for outlets such as ESPN, FOX Sports, the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel, The Independent Florida Alligator and many more bylines. He also served as a Media Relations Specialist in the Miami-Dade County Executive Mayor’s Office of Communications, where, at the time, he was the youngest speech writer for an elected official in Miami-Dade County. In addition, he handled crisis communications and press inquiries for key county departments.
Before joining FOX Sports, Esteban spent 10 years with FanDuel Sports Network (previously Bally Sports, FOX Sports Florida) as Director of Media Relations. In this role, he spearheaded PR partnerships with the Miami HEAT, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Orlando Magic, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins and more, while building one of the most innovative and revenue-generating social media presences among regional sports networks nationwide. He also covered multiple marquee events including the MLB, NBA and NHL All-Star Games and launched the networks’ first podcast: Miami Mic’d Up. In 2015, he earned a Suncoast Emmy Award for his creative work at FanDuel. This role opened the door to FOX Sports University (previously Creative University), which allowed Esteban to return to Gainesville and to the College for over 13 semesters as a lead advisor on student driven projects and creative campaigns.
Esteban is deeply committed to youth and community development having spent over a decade serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors for After-School All-Stars South Florida, a national nonprofit serving more than 2,000 students across South Florida annually.
Artie Kempner, B.S. Public Relations 1981
Kempner is an acclaimed television director whose career in sports broadcasting spans more than four decades. Most of this time was spent with Fox Sports, directing the network coverage of the NFL and NASCAR. He worked at CBS Sports from 1982-94, before moving to Fox Sports, to help launch the network’s NFL coverage. Over the years, Kempner directed some of the most high-profile events in sports, including Super Bowl XXXIX (Eagles vs Patriots) and Super Bowl XLII (Giants vs Patriots), as well as eight NFC Championship games and over 690 NFL regular season and playoff games. In 2025, Kempner was named the director of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, bringing his extensive experience and award-winning vision to one of the most iconic franchises in sports television.
Over his 44 seasons in sports television, his directorial credits include: three Winter Olympic Games (1992 & ’94 Alpine Skiing and 1998 Ice Hockey); 22 Daytona 500s, and over 400 other NASCAR Races; The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, PGA Tour and LPGA Tour golf; NCAA Basketball Tournament; NBA Playoffs and Regular season; NHL on Fox; US Open Tennis Championships; and NCAA Championships in Track, Swimming, Gymnastics and Lacrosse.
Kempner is a 12-time Sports Emmy Winner and has garnered over 40 other nominations for major sporting events. He has also directed two prime time shows, including the live Fox Special from Egypt, “Opening the Lost Tombs,” which earned three Emmy nominations. Kempner is also one of only a dozen directors in history to have directed a Super Bowl broadcast.
Beyond his professional achievements, Kempner has made a lasting mark through his advocacy. He is the founding president of Autism Delaware and the chairman of the Drive for Autism charity golf event. The event has raised over $7 million for programs, services and research for the autism community. His autism advocacy work has been recognized by Autism Speaks, where he received the first “President’s Award,” and by NASCAR, where he was a finalist for the Home Depot Humanitarian Award and the Comcast Community Champion of the Year. He was also a driving force in creating Fox Sports Supports, which was initiated by the company in 2007 and continues today. The program supports community and national programs for a variety of different meaningful causes and charities.
Kempner has three sons; Matt, a Director for Turner Sports; Jack, an Associate Director with CBS Sports; and Ethan, who works with the Autism Delaware POW&R program. Ethan was diagnosed with autism in 1997 and has been the motivation and inspiration behind Kempner’s work with the autism community.
Mary Shedden, B.S. Journalism 1990
Shedden is the Senior Managing Director of Content at WUSF Public Media in Tampa. She’s responsible for editorial vision, multi-platform storytelling strategy and brand management. Shedden joined WUSF in 2013, jumping to public radio from her newspaper reporting career. She served as a News Director for a decade, overseeing WUSF’s broadcast and online newsroom.
A local journalism advocate, she led public media collaboratives across Florida, such as a statewide voter guide, and the creation of Your Florida – a project connecting state government to the real lives of Floridians. Shedden also led the creation of WUSF newsletters, a daily podcast and a daily talk show broadcast live on radio and on YouTube.
Before joining WUSF, Shedden spent 17 years at The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com, Florida Today and The Gainesville Sun. She covered stories from the case of the killer of five Gainesville college students, to an investigation on retired pro athletes living with brain damage and chronic pain. Like many UF journalism students, her first newspaper gig was the Independent Florida Alligator.
WUSF has received honors under her leadership including the 2025 National Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence and the 2016 National Edward R. Murrow Award for a statewide collaborative called Health News Florida. In 2025, Florida Public Media honored Shedden with the Janeth Ryder Award for Innovation.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the Public Media Journalists Association and the Florida Society of News Editors. She also advises Journeys in Journalism, a K-12 program in Pinellas County Schools. Shedden is a member of the UFCJC Journalism Advisory Board, where she has mentored many UF students as they launched their journalism careers.
Mark Swanson, B.S. Telecommunication 1997
Swanson is an Emmy Award-winning Television News Director at CNN. Swanson has spent nearly three decades working at CNN. Originally hired as a video journalist, Swanson was promoted to Technical Director after just two years, later working his way up to Senior Technical Director until being promoted to his current role as Director in 2023. His extensive news coverage has included some of the biggest events of the last three decades, including seven presidential elections, three papal elections, the September 11th Terrorist Attacks, the War in Afghanistan, the deaths of Princess Diana and Nelson Mandela, Hurricane Katrina and the war against Isis. He was also the Technical Director for Larry King Live from 2001 to 2005 and was in the chair for the first five hours of CNN’s global coverage of the start of the Second Gulf War. Swanson worked special events for CNN for more than a decade covering prime time election coverage, debates, Presidential Town Halls and national conventions. Swanson won an Emmy for directing part of CNN’s Breaking News coverage on Oct. 7, 2023, the start of the Israel – Hamas war.
Swanson also spent five years as a freelance director for Comcast Sports South, working on shows like “SportsNite,” “Talkin’ Football,” “Talkin’ Hoops” and “In the Huddle.” His work there also earned him two additional Emmy nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Regularly Scheduled Live Sports Programming.
Swanson was one of the leaders that launched Night to Shine, a prom for people with special needs sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, in the Atlanta area in 2016. He took over the lead role as Co-Chair and Lead Coordinator in 2019 and managed 20 teams of over 300 volunteers to plan, produce and execute the prom annually serving hundreds of honored guests.
Category: Alumni News, College News
Tagged: Artie Kempner Eric Esteban Hall of Fame Jamie Dupree Journalism Mark Swanson Mary Shedden MPMT Public Relations
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