Prof. Timothy D. Smith
114 Taylor Hall
Kent State University
Kent, Ohio
off: 330-672-8289
fax: 330-672-4064
tdmsmith@kent.edu
Prof. Timothy D. Smith joined the School of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty at Kent State
University in 1986 after 19 years at the Akron Beacon Journal, where he last served as managing editor. He has
also worked for the Columbus Dispatch, the Painesville Telegraph, and United Press International.
Prof. Smith earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from The Ohio State University and a law
degree from the University of Akron. He is the founder and chair of the Media Law Center for Ethics and Access.
In addition to teaching reporting and media law courses at Kent State, Prof. Smith serves as a newspaper
consultant, an expert witness in media law cases and as a lecturer on media relations, libel, invasion of privacy
and public records issues. He is a founding member of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and a past
chair of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Media Law Committee.
In 1996, he received the John S. Knight award for excellence in the service of journalism from the Buckeye Chapter
of the Society of Professional Journalists, and has served as that organization’s president. In 1997, he was
selected as a Fellow of the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Journalism Excellence program, a summer
newspaper residency for journalism professors. In 2000, he received the university’s Distinguished Teaching
Award, sponsored by the KSU Alumni Association and the KSU Foundation. During a professional leave in 2003, Prof.
Smith served as a volunteer attorney in the Portage County Public Defender’s office and has since launched a
part-time practice as a criminal defense lawyer.