John Walls, a 1978 Broadcast Journalism alumnus, receives the 2026 P.I. Reed Achievement Award from Reed School director Emily Corio during the Spring Honors Ceremony. Photo by David Smith.
John Walls, a 1978 Broadcast Journalism alumnus, received the 2026 P.I. Reed Achievement Award, the most prestigious award bestowed upon alumni of the WVU Reed School of Media and Communications.
Born and raised in Morgantown, Walls always loved WVU. As a child, he would play “one-on-none” basketball in the yard, where his one-man Mountaineer team always beat Pitt. His goal from an early age was to be the next Jack Flemming, the longtime announcer for WVU basketball and football, so WVU’s broadcast journalism program was a perfect fit.
Immediately after graduating, he began his broadcasting career at WWVU-TV, a PBS affiliate, in Morgantown, West Virginia.
“I graduated on Saturday and went to work on Monday,” Walls said.
After a year at WWVU-TV, he moved to Beaumont, Texas, to serve as host of the syndicated television program, “PM Magazine.” From there, he went on to work for stations in Charleston, South Carolina; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Los Angeles, where he was a member of the original anchor team for Fox Sports Net. He also served as Sports Director for three television stations.
In 2000, after more than 20 years in sports broadcast, Walls returned to Tulsa where he anchored the evening news for NBC-affiliate KJRH-TV. In 2004, he accepted a position as Vice-President of Public Affairs for Washington, D.C.-based CTIA-The Wireless Association, where he remained for 11 years.
Currently, Walls hosts coverage for the PGA Tour on its broadcast app, PGA Tour Live. He is also an on-site host for Silicon Angle TV’s flagship digital broadcast, “The Cube,” and an adjunct professor in Sports Industry Management in the School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University, the alma mater where he earned his master’s degree.
Walls has received numerous awards throughout his career, including a Heartland Regional Emmy for his news series “Hooked on Meth” and another for his on-location anchoring of the Timothy McVeigh execution. Looking back on his broadcast career, Walls is most proud of his ability to transition from sports reporting to investigative journalism.
“I learn a little something from everything,” Walls said. “In little pieces of life, whether you’re lecturing in church or hitting a golf shot or whatever, it’s live and there are no do-overs, so you just do your best to make it count. In journalism, that live television experience ... it’s had a huge impact on how I approach my life.”
Walls said he’s loved every job he’s ever had, but in some ways, his role with the PGA reminds him of his days at WWVU-TV, still telling stories.
I love the School, and I love being a Journalism School graduate. To be honored like this, to me, is almost unbelievable. I’m deeply humbled. John Walls
When he thinks back on himself as a child, playing basketball in the driveway, beating Pitt at the buzzer, and aspiring to be the next Jack Flemming, he couldn’t have imagined receiving an award like this.
“I never dreamed of having any kind of accomplishment that somebody else might deem worthy of recognition,” Walls said. “To have that happen—that’s like almost heaven.”
Walls received his award during the WVU Reed School’s Spring Honors Ceremony on May 1, where Director Emily Corio also presented faculty awards for outstanding teaching to Elizabeth Oppe, outstanding research to Julia Fraustino and outstanding service to Chuck Scatterday. Assistant Professor Joseph Jones received the Colonel Thomas J. Boyd Faculty Fellowship, a monetary award established by Boyd, who was a 1971 journalism graduate, to support faculty members who are not yet fully promoted and who are excelling in teaching, research or creative work.
Assistant Professor Joseph Jones with Tom Boyd Faculty Fellowship, a 1971 journalism graduate. Photo by David Smith.
Corio also recognized Aaron Hawley, who received the WVU Nicholas Evans Award for Professional Advising, a university-level award that recognizes a staff member’s commitment to making sure students have a clear path to success and to help them steady themselves when challenges arise. Hawley is the coordinator for the Multidisciplinary Media Studies major, the online B.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications and the Reed School of Media and Communication’s minors.
Learn more about the WVU Reed School of Media and Communications at mediaandcommunications.wvu.edu and follow @wvureedschool on social media.