‘Weird Al’ Yankovic to join Cal Poly media hall of fame

Parody music artist “Weird Al” Yankovic and former California secretary of state Bruce McPherson are among the luminaries who will be inducted into Cal Poly’s new Mustang Media Hall of Fame later this month, according a news release.

The Cal Poly Journalism Department is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the school’s student press with “100 Years of Delivering the News,” two days of events that include the Jim Hayes Symposium on journalistic integrity on Oct. 14 and the Spotlight Gala on Oct. 15.

Held at Embassy Suites by Hilton in San Luis Obispo, the Spotlight Gala will feature a keynote address by Ben Bradlee Jr., a former deputy managing editor of The Boston Globe who helped direct the coverage of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003; the investigation inspired the Oscar-winning movie “Spotlight.”

Also at the gala, the journalism department will induct the inaugural class of the Mustang Media Hall of Fame, which recognizes “the accomplishments of extraordinary students, faculty and staff who have made vital contributions” to student media at Cal Poly, the news release said.

Two former Cal Poly students will be inducted in person: Yankovic, a former KCPR DJ who famously recorded his song “My Bologna” in a campus bathroom, and McPherson, who worked for Cal Poly’s student newspaper before becoming a reporter and editor at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. McPherson has served as a Santa Cruz County supervisor, state assemblyman and state senator.

Former Cal Poly president Robert E. Kennedy and George Ramos, a Los Angeles Times reporter, editor and columnist who chaired Cal Poly’s journalism department for four years, will be honored posthumously.

Tickets for the Spotlight Gala cost $125, while other events are free. For more information about “100 Years of Delivering the News,” and a full schedule of events, visit www.mustangnews.net/anniversary/event-schedule.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 1:40 PM with the headline "‘Weird Al’ Yankovic to join Cal Poly media hall of fame."