From headlines to crime reports: AI’s growing role in newsrooms
By Mike & Alex Buffington Mainstreet Newspapers Jefferson, Georgia
Editor’s note: ChatGPT wrote the headline for this story and generated the two illustrations on page 4.
A few weeks ago, we asked the ISWNE Hotline for editors to tell how they’re using AI in the newsroom. A lot of people responded, some aggressively using AI while others remain reluctant to pursue its newsroom use
Of course, some AI tools have been around a long time, including spellcheck software and early grammar-checking software
For the past year or so, we’ve been experimenting with more advanced AI and its potential to help manage the flow of news on a consistent basis.
We’ve found some things it’s very good at, but it does have some flaws
Like a lot of small-town newspapers, we face financial and staffing limitations. Even if we could afford more staff, finding and keeping people is increasingly difficult Plus, we publish five weekly papers and while each has its own editor, we do share resources and help support each other.
So, our experiments with AI have been to find ways to be more efficient with the weekly workload, especially routine duties. In that, AI is proving to be a great tool, and we believe it has a lot of potential for the future at most weekly newsrooms.
Here are some of the ways we’ve been using and experimenting with AI, starting with some simple examples working up toward our more complex and problematic experiments:
Transcribing/Otter
Like many of those who commented on the ISWNE Hotline, we too use Otter and other transcription software (iPhones now have that ability) to get quotes and to recall other comments from public meetings We record all meetings we attend, as do all our editors and reporters The problem is sound quality; it is often poor and the transcription becomes muddled. Still, as more local governments set up their own recording devices for audio and video, the quality may improve, especially if we can link our recording into those systems. (More about using audio transcriptions later.)
Simple editing
We get a lot of emails with data in a variety of formats and conditions. We’ve found
Mike & Alex Buffington
that AI is excellent for processing this information and is much faster than doing it manually (Note, we’re currently using ChatGPT with the upgraded paid version because it is more robust. There may be
PRESIDENT ’S REPORT
Persistence pays off
I absolutely love paying bills online! It gives me a sense of control and the peace of mind that everything will arrive on time A few years ago, if a payment was postmarked by the due date, it was considered to be paid on time But the law changed, and payments had to be received by the due date If a credit payment isn't received by the deadline, the cardholder could be declared in default, and the credit bureau could be notified. The company might even begin collection efforts. Yikes! That seems pretty harsh.
One time, I mailed a credit card payment 17 days before the due date. To my surprise, it was posted exactly one day late, and I ended up with a late fee and finance charge Needless to say, I was rather upset I always make sure to pay my bills on time, if not early When I called to see if they could waive the charges, the representative was unyielding Fortunately, after speaking with someone at our local bank, I managed to have the fees reversed.
I’ve often wondered whether companies intentionally post payments late to collect late fees and finance charges. It seemed like a legal loophole they could exploit, since no one knew exactly when a payment arrived.
I used to listen to Clark Howard, a consumer advocate and syndicated radio host, who shared my suspicions He sent a payment via registered mail to track its arrival Sure enough, the payment was posted after the due date even though the payment arrived before the due date. When he called to challenge the fees, the company claimed it had arrived late. Armed with the exact date and time of receipt, he had the charges reversed. He proved what I always suspected.
When I pay bills online, I no longer worry about late payments.
Back when I was in college, I took out a student loan with monthly payments of $46 25 over 10 years I always made sure to pay on time, allowing ample time for the mail to deliver my payment Over the course of the loan, it was sold several times On my 119th payment, I received a nasty letter accusing me of being late It basically called me irresponsible for not repaying my loan. This was the second to the last payment! The problem? I had no idea who to call, since my loan was sold several times over the nearly 10-year period. Payments were addressed to a bin number.
Luckily, I kept the name and telephone number of the banker who had originally helped me with the loan She was still working for the bank and was able to track down the appropriate contact When I called, I explained my impeccable payment history and asked them to check their records The representative confirmed that my previous 118 payments had arrived early. The check must have gotten lost in the mail.
I asked for the correct address and offered to send the remaining two payments immediately. It turned out I didn’t owe the full $92.50
Jan Haupt ISWNE President Lodi, Wisconsin
but only around $20 since my early payments had gone toward the principal I suspect if all 120 payments had arrived on time, the bank would have pocketed the extra $70
Another time, in 1981, Bill and I bought our first house in Glen Ellyn, Illinois In 1983, when we sold our house, we were fortunate that it sold quickly within a couple of weeks during a sluggish market with high interest rates. I was working for the AT&T technical training center where I could stay and eat (for free) while Bill was running the newspaper in Lodi.
Since our house payment was due on the first of the month and we were closing mid-month, I called the bank to ask if our payment would be prorated The response was full of “bankese” and I couldn’t quite understand I asked twice for a simpler explanation, but was belittled for not grasping why we had to pay the full amount
The telephone company allowed up to $300 for a lawyer to handle the home closing. Our agent recommended a lawyer, but when Bill met with him just before closing, he found the lawyer had done nothing and wanted Bill to sign a blank agreement. Within minutes, Bill walked out – no papers signed.
With the clock ticking, Bill scrambled and found another lawyer in less than two days I met with him right away, explaining the situation I mentioned the mortgage payment issue, and the lawyer agreed I shouldn’t have to pay the full month However, given the urgency of the closing, we decided not to pursue it further at that moment.
The closing went ahead as planned. But a few months later, I received a call from the lawyer, and I feared the worst something was wrong with the house, and we were being sued. In fact, the lawyer had received the canceled mortgage, which was sent to him due to my temporary address
On our behalf, the lawyer contacted the bank and informed them that we were owed more than $400, since we’d only lived in the house for 15 days of that month The bank claimed it was their “policy” to collect the full monthly mortgage, but the lawyer pointed to the specific paragraph in the mortgage contract that indicated the amount should have been prorated. The bank eventually sent us a check. That $400 more than covered the lawyer’s fees and served as a reminder that sometimes, persistence pays off in unexpected ways.
Today, with the convenience of paying bills online, I never have to worry about missing a payment I take great pride in knowing that I'll leave this world with a spotless financial record – free of late payments or finance charges
Jan Haupt lives in Lodi, Wisconsin, with her husband, Bill, the 2001-02 ISWNE president. Email her at jhauptlodi@gmail.com.
From headlines from
better AI software for newspaper use, but this was a way to start.)
Boots-on-the-ground example: If you’re in the United States, you may receive college/university dean’s/president’s/graduates lists from Merit Pages They often capitalize the degree names (Bachelor of Arts in Journalism) and include the ZIP code for each student Depending on the college, that can be over 100 students in our area Copying and pasting that copy with the instructions to “De-capitalize non-proper nouns and remove ZIP codes,” Chat can edit in 30 seconds what would take us 10 minutes to do manually or through the “Find and Replace” function on Microsoft Word and similar software. Saves time and frustration.
Another example is that Chat can refine submitted copy and even enhance it We recently had a story submitted by a school about some awards local students had won. We put it into Chat to clean it up and to our surprise, Chat recognized the award program, linked to the state department of education website and pulled in relevant background about it.
One caveat about this, however, is that Chat tends to be too rah-rah promotional and needs command language to force it into third-person and tamp down extraneous language.
Extracting data from flyers
ChatGPT is good at extracting the words from a picture flier and creating an announcement from it (we get these because people make them to post to
Facebook and other social media ) The command you give Chat is key on this. For example, you could upload a flyer for a church open house announcement and give Chat the command to: “Write an announcement from the information in this flyer using Associated Press style and in third person.” Again, this saves time and frustration, especially on deadline (Note: Chat will also extract data from PDF files and clean it up to remove line breaks and it will also read PowerPoint files. We’ve not tried Excel files, but it will likely read those as well.)
Sports data
In Georgia, some sports upload results into a central database (especially for track & field and cross-country). That data can be copied and pasted into Chat and cleaned up by removing extraneous information and showing local schools’ results It can also analyze sports data if you have that information available.
Headlines
Stuck for a headline? Put the story in to Chat and tell it to give you three suggestions. It does a fairly good job with that. If you don’t like the first draft, you can tell Chat to tweak it or focus on a particular aspect of the story. Good for when you’re tired and on deadline.
Cutlines
AI is proving invaluable in this, especially for those routine school photos that we have submitted each week (we have three school systems and a multitude of schools in our
page 1 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
county and they compete to see who can send in the most school news). Often, the photos are of kids doing something, but no names We put those photos into Chat, tell it what the school name is and what the activity is and it will spit out suggested cutlines for each photo.
The most interesting example of this was a local high school sent its band to London to participate in that city’s New Year’s Day parade We received a bunch of photos of the kids marching through the streets of London and some of them posing around the city, but no specific names We put the photos (12-15 of them) into Chat, told it the school’s name and what the event was and asked for cutlines. We got some terrific cutlines back within seconds; it even recognized one of the specific locations in a photo and named that in the cutline
Copy editing
We all make writing mistakes and typos. We’ve found that putting a story, or even an entire page, into Chat and asking it to look for errors and typos helps It will also make grammar suggestions (in bold) and sometimes will improve the flow of an article. While some may bristle at the idea of AI doing something traditional editors have done, we believe this is the trend for the future, especially as AI gets trained. Plus, there’s really no downside. You can use some of the suggested changes or not
Art
We’ve not really experimented much with
ISWNE OFFICERS:
PRESIDENT: Jan Haupt – Term exp July 2025 Lodi Enterprise Lodi, Wisconsin jhauptlodi@gmail com
VICE PRESIDENT: Andy Schotz – Term exp July 2025
The Frederick News-Post Frederick, Mar yland lawngyland@aol com
EXECUTIVE DIREC TOR:
Dr. Chad Stebbins
Executive Direc tor, Missouri Press Association
802 Locust St Columbia, MO 65201 cstebbins@mopress com
Phone: (417) 438-2181 Website: ISWNE.org
BOARD OF DIREC TORS:
Molly McRober ts – Term exp July 2025
Potter Count y News Gettysburg, South Dakota molly@pottercountynews com
Bradley A. Mar tin – Term exp July 2025 Hickman Count y Times Center ville, Tennessee editor hc times@yahoo com
Ken Garner – Term exp June 2026 Mar y ville Forum Mar y ville, Missouri kgarner@mar y villeforum com
K athy Tretter – Term exp June 2026 Ferdinand News Ferdinand, Indiana ferdnews@psci net
Jeff Gaye – Term exp 2027
Respect Cold Lake, Alber ta, Canada jeff@respec tnews ca Lisha Van Nieuwenhove – Term exp 2027
The Uxbridge Cosmos Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada
Immediate Past President: Ian Murray Free Press Forum
United Kingdom Dorset, England ianmurray editor@gmail com
From headlines from page 3
using Chat to create images, but plan to do so for creating editorial cartoons to go with some editorials
Now for the more advanced uses we’re experimenting with:
Data stories
One of the things most reporters hate are budget, audit and tax stories. They’re often complex and involve a lot of numbers and calculations This is an area Chat excels in
There are two ways to go about this: One is to drop a PDF (or other format) of a budget or audit into Chat and tell it to analyze the data and give you a summary of the major datapoints and from that, you can write a story. The second way is to drop the data into Chat and tell it to write an AP-style story and see what it gives you back
We did this recently with an old city budget (64-page PDF) we had on hand to see what would happen. It gave us a story, but we didn’t think it had the right focus. We then told Chat to rewrite the story and “add more details to the above story including millage rate data and additional percentage increases or decreases in data.” Chat then rewrote the story with more of a focus on the millage rate and additional percentages of how the budget had changed from the year before It wasn’t a bad story; at the very least, it would give someone a starting point to write from.
In a related experiment, we dropped a PowerPoint audit summary into Chat from one of our local towns and told it to write a story. It wrote a great summary of the audit’s highlights and did so in a few seconds. Chat really does do data well and fast if you give it the right command
Crime processing
Crime processing takes a lot of time for us Our local sheriff’s department makes approximately 100,000 reports a year, and that’s not including the various city police departments and the arrest log. It’s a lot to sort through on a weekly basis. We’ve been experimenting with using ChatGPT to handle some of the more routine aspects of crime reports, but we’re still just in the experimenting phase for that.
Meeting stories
This is where Chat begins to falter. Some of that is in the commands given to Chat; the more specific and detailed, the better the outcome will be
There are a couple of ways we’ve experimented with this idea One has been to feed the minutes from a meeting into Chat and tell it to write an APstyle third-person story. Chat can do that, but the quality depends on the complexity of the meeting
In a multi-topic meeting, if you tell Chat to lead with a specific issue, that helps it focus. But minutes are often sparse and filter out controversy, so it’s not the same thing as a reporter covering a public meeting. Still, if like us you have multiple meetings on the same night and have to rely on minutes to backfill, Chat could be a way to quickly get a draft done which can then be refined. (An interesting experiment we’ve not done would be to feed a year’s worth of a government’s minutes into Chat and ask it to look for trends )
Beyond minutes, we wanted to see if Chat could take a transcript from a recording and write a news story based on that. This is where AI struggles For one thing, as mentioned above, transcripts are often muddled because the initial recording wasn’t very
clear Chat can figure out some of that by context, but not everything.
Recently, we’ve tried this with two very different meetings
The first was a single-issue public hearing by a small-town council about a controversial new tax law. We covered the meeting and wrote a story. Later, we put a transcribed recording of the meeting into Chat, told it the name of the city and the topic being discussed, then told it to write a story We wanted to see how close the Chat version would be to the version we had written.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
From headlines from page 4
The short answer is, better than we anticipated Chat did identify the topic as having been confusing, which we also mentioned in our story’s lead And it was able to filter out some of the extraneous comme nts from the audience sitting nearby and pull information from the actual discussion
Still, there were several aspects to the story that Chat didn’t know but we did, like how the discussion fit in with similar discussions being held by other local governments and the fact that for that community, the financial impact would be very small anyway. In other words, Chat couldn’t give context to the story that we could.
In addition, Chat couldn’t identify the names of those speaking, although it was able to distinguish by context if a speaker was a public official or a citizen.
The second experiment was more complex We covered a county government meeting that had a lengthy agenda including many zoning issues. We wrote two stories from the meet ing, one about the zoning and another about other issues that had been voted on by the board
Later, we put the lengthy agenda (274page PDF that had supporting documents) that had been supplied by the county and a transcript of our recording of the meeting into Chat and told it to write two stories, one about the zoning issues and another about the rest of the agenda. The idea was to see how closely Chat matched our “human-written” stories
The first version of the Chat stories was boilerplate and read like minutes with no real lead and little detail.
We then told Chat to rewrite the stories and pick out a main lead and to expand on that topic with more details This time, Chat did a pretty good job with the general, non-zoning story and had a lead. But it wasn’t the lead we had used and and it didn’t summ arize the other issues very well
Likewise, for the rewritten zoning story, Chat did have a lead in the second version, but it was the wrong issue to focus on
We then went back a third time and told Chat to rewrite the zoning story and gave it a specific lead we outlined. That time, Chat did write a good lead, but it also created a major problem it made up a couple of quotes and inserted them into the story. It just made them up. While Chat had access to the transcript of the meeting to query, those quotes were not in that
We ’ve seen this with Chat a few other times as well, so for future commands, we will include verbiage for it to not create any quotes. (We suspect this tendency by Chat to make up quotes is related to its use to write promotional materials for social media. It’s a bad tendency for newspapers and perhaps it will “unlearn” that habit as we give it more commands )
S u m m a r y
Overall, Chat (and maybe other AI software) can be a huge help today with routine newsroom processing duties and it can help copy edit, write headlines and cutlines It can also help analyze large data sets, such as budgets and audits and
synthesize that into a summ ary or perhaps even a full story if given a good command or series of tweak commands
As for news writing from public meetings, Chat has a lot of promise, but is not ready for prime time if the only data it is fed is a transcript from a meeting It can do OK with minutes from meetings if there is no other choice
Another hurdle will be to train AI to recognize what is important in a meeting and to create a lead That’s possible by delineating some criteria for it to follow, or simply picking a lead based on the agenda and putting that into the command.
As AI learns from these exercises, we expect it will get better One area we’re exploring is to see if we can make our entire digital database of past stories in BLOX available for Chat to query. That knowledge base would be very helpful to have as a real time resource that AI can quickly scan and find relevant data to give more context to current stories. Based on our experiments and use, we believe that in the coming years, AI will become as big a revolution in our newsrooms as the transition from hot to cold type was in the 1960s and the transition to computer-digital layout was in the 1990s
Mike Buffington is co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers and Alex is news editor of the group’s flagship newspaper, The Jackson Herald Email Mike at mike@mainstreetnews com
Shoring up a critical community asset
By Bradley A. Martin Editor and Publisher
Hickman County Times
Centerville, Tennessee
Feb 17, 2025
Those of you who read the front page before turning over to my column already know what’s going on:
The Times is being sold, and our future is being shored up.
We have been, during all of my tenure, owned by Crawford Newspapers, based in Killen, Alabama, and Lawrenceburg This family appointed me editor back in 1985, and left me alone ever since telling me what to publish no more than a couple of times in four decades.
Indeed, many of you have assumed that I was the owner. Nope. Thanks to Marie and to Jim he’s deceased and now their son, Charlie, for the freedom
The independence I have enjoyed has led to a high level of passion about this newspaper and what publications like this one should be doing
In a word, informing.
This, however, is a volatile time for newspapers, and we need more support. In my case, I need a successor because Monroe Bratton Gordon is growing up
(almost 5) and this job keeps me from her a bit too much.
Enter Main Street Media of Tennessee, which owns a string of weekly newspapers around Middle Tennessee This group likes news and paper and ink, and as owner Dave Gould told me last week there are enough reporters on his staff to help a brother out when necessary.
I have absolutely no doubt that this publication will remain a valuable source; that is, it will continue to publish news about this community No one else does, making the Times more important
I don’t have a full understanding of Main Street Media yet, but I know they publish more than a dozen newspapers, including those in Columbia and Dickson.
These are places where the long-established newspapers have been ripped apart there is no other way to say it by the bean-counters at Gannett
Main Street Media takes over the Times on Wednesday of this week, and that will bring on some changes, including a glidepath for me to retire
Big change there: the way we were going, the three-year anniversary of my search for a successor was going to arrive without an end in sight. I think we’ve had one worthy candidate in that time an
EHHS graduate, who ended up finding a better fit
My predicament, including the lack of emerging newspaper reporters from the college level, is one of the reasons why we initiated our monthly high school pages High school journalism is where I started, and I hope to help make better writers and light a similar candle or two.
Why? This work is damn important and it’s why I’m not quite ready to leave. Given that there is no other credible information source in this county, it would be a professional failure for me to run off without making sure that local data continues to be disseminated to you
With Main Street Media coming in, my task becomes simpler: sharing what I know with those who will take the torch.
Times is being sold to week ly newspaper group this week
Hickman County Times
Centerville, Tennessee Feb. 17, 2025
The Hickman County Times has been sold to Main Street Media of Tennessee, the owners announced last week
The Times has been published here for 76 years and has been owned by the Crawford family of Lawrenceburg for more than 50 years.
“Our commitment over the years to the people of Hickman County never wavered,
and we’re proud of the legacy we’ve built,” said Charlie Crawford, whose late grandfather, Jim Crawford Sr , and the late Gilbert Yarbrough of Centerville began a co-ownership half a century ago.
Main Street Media has been publishing weekly newspapers, magazines and websites
in Middle Tennessee since 2013 Owner Dave Gould said his multimedia company also providers of websites, e-newsletters, social media pages and a streaming TV channel publishes newspapers in 13 counties
“Main Street Media of Tennessee’s mission is to provide readers with hyperlocal news and information that is relevant and impacts their daily lives,” said Gould. Main Street Media is based in Gallatin.
BRADLEY A. MARTIN
Wasteful government spending isn’t just a national issue
By Tim Timmons Chief Executive Officer Sagamore News Media Crawfordsville, Indiana
Feb. 14,
2025
During a time when the president of the United States is meeting with reporters every day, providing more transparency to government operations than Americans have seen before, some lawmakers at the Indiana Statehouse are trying to do the opposite.
A couple of committees are considering taking public notices out of Indiana newspapers and placing them all on a giant, government website that would make looking for a specific public notice like finding a needle in a truckful of needles Truth is, most of them mean well They are talking about saving money for taxpayers and creating a one-stop shop for public notices.
But the reality boils down to just a few essential facts.
1 Public notices cost pennies compared to other government spending
2 If the state has to create a website for
this, they will have to spend money to do so and then spend money for staffing and upkeep.
3. The state press association already has a public website where those ads are placed at no additional cost to taxpayers.
4. Not everyone reads public notice ads, but some do And for those who pay attention to how our government operates, these information boxes provide invaluable data
5. If the government posts their own notices, where is the check and balance system? Isn’t that akin to the fox guarding the henhouse?
6. Newspapers aren’t dying, but evolving However, the last thing those community icons need right now is another piece of negative news Wouldn’t it serve everyone better if lawmakers didn’t pass legislation that makes it even harder?
7. Can you name something the government does more efficiently than private business?
Let’s make no mistake about this. Public notices are a positive thing for newspapers They certainly aren’t the biggest revenue stream we have by a
long shot But these days, every little bit helps. And there is no doubt that having that information published by those who tend to keep an eye on politicians helps everyone including the legislators.
Taxpayers are already angry over property taxes and insane government spending programs Why would Indiana lawmakers want to make such a blatant move that does nothing but make important information even harder to find? It doesn’t make sense for anyone and here’s hoping better heads prevail in Indianapolis.
Email Tim Timmons at ttimmons@thepaper24-7 com
2025 ISWNE Sustaining Members
In addition to paying their ISWNE membership dues, these individuals have donated $40 more to the Society. We appreciate their generosity!
Reed Anfinson
Larry Atkinson
Beth Bennett
Bill Bishop
Bill Blauvelt
Dennis Brown
David Burke
Gordon Cameron
Ross Connelly
Don Corrigan
Al Cross
Faith DeAmbrose
David Dunn-Rankin
Diane Everson
Gloria Freeland
Elliott Freireich
Frank Garred
Deborah Givens
Roger Givens
Benji Hamm
Craig Harrington
Terri House
Brett Hueston
Rebecca Lawyer
Thomas Locke
Paul MacNeill
John Marshall
Brad Martin
Eric Meyer
Don Nelson
Kris O’Leary
Sharon Raffer
Steve Ranson
Bill Reader
Larry Roeder
Andy Schotz
Barbara Selvin
Donald Q. Smith
Gary and Helen Sosniecki
Karen Spurgeon
Steve Strickbine
Robert Trapp
Kathy Tretter
Bill Tubbs
Lisha Van Nieuwenhove
Charles Wallace
Luann Waldo
Tim L. and Mary Waltner
Laura Rearwin Ward
Tom Ward
Alan Wartes
Dan Wehmer
Jon Whitney
Clyde Wills
Tom Wills
Guy and Marcia Wood
Cheryl Wormley
TIM TIMMONS
Renew your editorial voice on South Dakota’s prairie this summer
By David Bordewyk South Dakota NewsMedia Association
Registration is now open for the 2025 ISWNE conference at South Dakota State University in Brookings. You can register at www.sdna.com/iswne.
We look forward to seeing many of you in Brookings on July 9-13 Plus, we hope you take advantage of the excellent pre-conference outing hosted by the Waltners on Tuesday, July 8 “Experience Freeman” will be truly memorable. You can register for “Experience Freeman” at sdna.com/iswne as well.
A few notes about conference registration and planning for your trip:
• The registration deadline is Monday, June 2 You can cancel your registration any time before June 16 and get a full refund No registration refunds after June 16
•Please contact Nicole Herrig on the SDNA staff if you have any questions about registration. Nicole is the conference planning coordinator and can be reached at nicole@sdna com or 800-658-3697
• Please email Nicole if you are flying in and out of Sioux Falls, not planning to rent a vehicle and need assistance with ground transportation between Sioux Falls and Brookings. It’s about an hour’s drive from the Sioux Falls airport to the SDSU campus.
• If you are planning for any off-campus housing accommodations, please note that
hotels in Brookings the weekend of the conference will fill quickly The annual Brookings Summer Arts Festival is happening July 12-13 and it attracts thousands of people to the city during the weekend.
We continue to work on the details for the full conference agenda, but things are coming together nicely Among our on-campus sessions will be presentations such as:
• The emergence of new news media outlets (both commercial and nonprofit) in South Dakota
• A discussion about how small newspapers with limited staff can engage their community to help cover the news
• The plusses and minuses of social media engagement for community newspapers
• SDSU journalism students immersed in multi-platform news gathering and reporting
• And, we will have SDSU ice cream! Fun fact: SDSU lays claim to the invention of cookies and cream ice cream in its dairy lab in 1979.
In Brookings, we will visit the beautiful McCrory Gardens, a 25-acre floral garden and 45-acre arboretum, which is a focal point of interest and tourism in our community Plus, you will have an option to attend an on-campus performance of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” by the Prairie Repertory Theatre.
A field trip on Thursday, July 10, will take
us to Sioux Falls We will spend the morning at the State Theatre in downtown Sioux Falls with a discussion about the impacts of immigration and an everexpanding diverse population in this fast-growing Midwest city. Enjoy lunch on your own in downtown Sioux Falls before we head to the Earth Resources and Observation (EROS) Center a few miles outside of the city Once there, we will learn about the fascinating global analysis and research that is happening thanks to millions of photo images collected by EROS scientists from the Landsat satellites circling the earth.
On behalf of SDSU Journalism Director Joshua Westwick, SDNA President Molly McRoberts, the Waltners and all of us at SDNA, we look forward to welcoming you to Brookings this summer We are excited about what we hope will be a memorable and inspiring conference for everyone.
Email David Bordewyk at daveb@sdna.com.
ISWNE members, including Chris Wood, David Burke, Bill Haupt and Larry Atkinson, on a guided tour of the Oaklane Colony in 2007.
DAVE BORDEWYK
Experience Freeman − ISWNE 2025
The Waltner family – Tim and Mary and their children, Jeremy and AnnaMarie –have been active with ISWNE since 1993 Tim is the retired publisher of the Freeman (South Dakota) Courier; Jeremy is the current publisher/editor AnnaMarie, who lives in Kentucky, helped present a program on libraries and newspapers at the 2022 ISWNE Conference in Lexington.
The Waltners helped host the 2007 conference in Rapid City and in response to requests from people who were curious about Freeman, the Waltners hosted a preconference visit in Freeman (on the opposite side of the state) When plans for the 2025 Brookings conference were announced, the Waltners were again encouraged to repeat the Freeman component and have agreed to host another gathering in their home community
Freeman, population 1,311, is located about an hour southwest of Sioux Falls and about 100 minutes southwest of the South Dakota State University campus
Here’s what’s planned for the Freeman Experience
The pre-conference Freeman visit (July 78) will precede the Brookings conference Registration ($60/person) will be an option on the 2025 summer conference form with the same deadline. It includes meals and admission/tours (preschool children are free). Those coming to Freeman will be responsible for their own transportation and housing; there are two motels in Freeman (details below) Other lodging options include Sioux Falls or Yankton, about 35 minutes south of Freeman
Monday, July 7
Check-in at motel/visit/tour/explore Freeman on your own. Jeremy invites you to visit the Courier office while you’re in town. Informal late afternoon/evening backyard picnic hosted by the Waltners
Tuesday, July 8
8 a m Continental breakfast at the Freeman Prairie Arboretum Interpretive Center (FPAIC). The arboretum, which has three ponds, flower gardens and more than a mile of walking paths, is free and open for visitors at any time
9 a m Presentation at the adjacent Heritage Hall Museum & Archives on Freeman's history including details about
the Germans-from-Russia migration from the area we know today as Ukraine to southeastern Dakota Territory that began in the 1870s This includes those from Amish, Hutterite and Mennonite traditions; we’ll dig a bit deeper into Hutterites.
Hutterites are a communal group that emerged nearly 500 years ago as part of the Anabaptist movement that grew out of the Reformation in Europe Colonies are self-sufficient communal agricultural communities of 100-120 people; there are more than 550 colonies in the Northern Plains of the U S and Southern Plains of Canada There are more than 60 colonies in South Dakota with many in our area We’ve arranged for a unique behind-thescenes visit to one of them later that day and will give you some background in advance.
9:30 a.m. Opportunity to tour the museum including two large exhibit halls, archives/library and four historical buildings as well as the arboretum The museum is filled with artifacts and exhibits that share the history of the community
11:30 a m Lunch A group of community members will provide a potluck-style meal with a focus on ethnic foods unique to this community and join the conversation.
12:30 p.m. Visit two local organic farms in rural Freeman – Prairie Roots Produce and Berrybrook Organics – and learn about their operations, which are unique in a community rooted in traditional agriculture
3:15 p m Leave for Oaklane Hutterite Colony for a guided tour and evening meal Oaklane is about 35 minutes northwest of Freeman.
Following the evening meal at Oaklane, guests are on their own to either return to Freeman (nothing formally planned) or head to Brookings where they can check into their dorm rooms in advance of Wednesday's conference Oaklane is about 95 minutes southwest of Brookings
Lodging in Freeman
Freeman Country Inn
https://www.freemancountryinn.com/ (605) 925-4888 or (605) 929-3582 freemaninn@goldenwest net
Rates are $95 plus $8 27 sales tax for a double room with two queen beds
Fensel’s Motel
605-925-4204 or 605-351-4747
$72 (tax included) for one bed, two people
$76 (tax included) for two beds, two people
Online links
City of Freeman https://www.cityoffreeman.org/
Freeman Community Development Corporation https://experiencefreemansd.com/
Freeman Courier https://www freemansd com/
Heritage Hall Museum & Archives https://heritagehallmuseum.com/
Hutterites https://hutterites.org/
John Wipf, business manager at Oaklane Colony, visits with Jan Haupt during ISWNE’s 2007 visit
Golden Quill entries
The winners have been notified, but the names will not be publicly announced until July 12
Name: Megan Wylie
ISWNE MEMBER PROFILE: Megan Wylie
Position(s) at newspaper: Managing editor
Name of newspaper(s): The Graphic
Geographical location of newspaper: West-central Arkansas – serving a three-county area of the Arkansas River Valley Last fall we added to our coverage area when a newspaper in an adjacent county permanently closed
Who owns the newspaper?
My in-laws, Ron and Margaret Wylie
Circulation of newspaper: 3,000
Number of issues per week/publication day(s): Once per week on Wednesdays
Number of full-time and part-time staff: 6 full-time, 3 part-time
Population of the town and county: Clarksville, Arkansas (9,600), Ozark, Arkansas (3,600), Johnson County, Arkansas (26,129)
Is the town growing, declining or holding steady? We are seeing some growth and a commensurate housing shortage as Arkansas is one of the most moved-to states since the pandemic With real estate values that are quite attractive to many transplants from states primarily to our west, the natural beauty of Arkansas has become a popular destination for many who love the outdoors, retirees and others who can telecommute.
Your greatest challenge: Profitability We have made great strides since my father-in-law retired and I started two years ago, but it is a daily battle to generate revenue from a traditional print publication and to control costs that continue to increase each year We need a full-time sales person but can’t seem to make the numbers work to afford to pay someone to do that.
Newspaper’s biggest strength: Our connection to the community is key for us. The paper has been run by three generations of our family now, and almost all our staff have deep roots in the community Four of our five full-time staff have been with the paper for over 20 years each, one for almost 60 years, so they know the ropes
For 146 years, The Graphic has served our community through the triumphs and tragedies of tornadoes and fires, championships and celebrations, with our reporting of local news, sports, births, deaths, engagements, weddings and anniversaries. The businesses that advertise with us have become familiar names in local households. I also feel like we are a trusted source of information because people know we will tell the whole story objectively and let them make up their
own minds about how they feel about it.
Newspaper’s biggest weakness or obstacle to overcome: That which is common to all newspapers the public’s declining interest in legacy media in general and print publications in particular Since we haven’t been able to successfully crack the code on making digital advertising a profitable endeavor, we have effectively doubled-down on what made us relevant in the first place: leveraging our connection to the community to report hyperlocal news.
Your family: My husband, Matt, and I have been married for 26 years and have three children and a son-in-law
Your hobbies/interests: It comes in handy in this line of work that I love to read Moreover, I love to learn In my early career as a speech language pathologist, I worked in a local public school and when we began to have a family, we made the decision to homeschool our children. That experience allowed me to read even more widely and for us to share the depth and breadth of some of the great works of literature as a family I also love to decorate, dabble in gardening a little and hang out with my family and friends
List something that is interesting or unusual about you: Because we’ve homeschooled for over two decades, we have full bookshelves in almost every room of our home. I love being surrounded by books and to collect and read beautiful copies of the classics…one of my favorites I’ve read many times is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I also enjoy keeping an old-school nature journal, although I haven’t had much time to do that the last few years Moths, birds and native wildflowers are of particular interest for me to journal and watercolor
What is your favorite journalism accomplishment? Since I started at The Graphic two years ago with no newspaper experience, I have done so many things outside my comfort zone and am proud of that. Risky as it was, and against the advice of some, my favorite thing was running a blank front page a year ago to warn the community of what it might be like without a newspaper and writing an editorial in which I was completely transparent about our struggle to stay afloat That issue became a catalyst to raise awareness and to make our case for viability We essentially asked the public, “Do you want a local newspaper or not?”
We are thankful that the positive response and momentum gained from that decision and the decision to redesign our paper last summer provided us with a huge boost the past year and led to us making up a lot of ground financially It’s a big reason we are still operating and slowly strengthening our financial position I gained a lot of confidence from the success of that decision
If you weren’t an editor or a publisher, what do you think you would be doing? I would probably be happily reading, homeschooling and homemaking full time instead of part time. However, with our youngest graduating in the next few years, I might also be considering the ideas of opening a cozy little bookstore or private lending library, or maybe even doing event planning in some small capacity
M innesota journalist celebrates
c areer milestone with book
U p o n r e a c h i n g t h e 5 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f
h i s f i r s t p u b l i s h e d w r i t i n g , c a r e e r n e w s -
p a p e r m a n D a l e K o v a r o f t h e H e r a l d
J o u r n a l i n W i n s t e d , M i n n e s o t a , h a s
r e l e a s e d a b o o k f e a t u r i n g h i g h l i g h t s f r o m
h i s w o r k .
Ti t l e d J o s e p h Wo r e Te n n i s S h o e s :
S t o r i e s F r o m S m a l l To w n J o u r n a l i s m ,
t h e b o o k f o l l o w s K o v a r ’s c a r e e r p a t h a t
M i n n e s o t a w e e k l y n e w s p a p e r s , m o s t o f
w h i c h w a s s p e n t i n t h e Wr i g h t / M c L e o d /
C a r v e r a r e a j u s t w e s t o f t h e Tw i n C i t i e s
H a v i n g s t a r t e d w r i t i n g f o r h i s h o m e t o w n
n e w s p a p e r i n h i g h s c h o o l , K o v a r h a s
b e e n w o r k i n g f u l l t i m e i n t h e n e w s p a p e r
f i e l d s i n c e .
T h e b o o k i n c l u d e s a w i d e v a r i e t y o f
r e p r i n t e d a r t i c l e s w h i c h K o v a r c i t e s a s h i s
b e s t a n d m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g w r i t i n g , s u p p l e -
m e n t e d b y b a c k g r o u n d i n f o a n d r e l a t e d
a n e c d o t e s T h e s t o r i e s r a n g e f r o m h i l a r i -
o u s t o h e a r t b r e a k i n g t o d i v i s i v e o p i n i o n s .
F r o m t h e t o p o f a w a t e r t o w e r t o a n
u p s i d e d o w n g y m n a s t , f r o m a d a y i n
k i n d e r g a r t e n t o a s t a t e p o l i t i c a l c o n v e n -
t i o n , f r o m a s i x - o v e r t i m e b a s k e t b a l l g a m e
t o a n A p r i l F o o l ’s f r o n t p a g e , f r o m g e t t i n g
b u r n e d b y a p h o n y l e t t e r t o t h e e d i t o r t o
a n a c t u a l o f f i c e f i r e – y o u d o n ’t k n o w
w h a t ’s n e x t u n t i l y o u t u r n t h e p a g e
“ O v e r 5 0 y e a r s , t h e r e h a v e b e e n m a n y
i n t e r e s t i n g p e o p l e a n d t o p i c s . I t ’s r e w a r d -
i n g t o b r i n g t h e b e s t s t o r i e s t o g e t h e r i n
o n e c o l l e c t i o n , ” K o v a r s a i d “ M y m o t h e r
a n d u n c l e b o t h p u b l i s h e d b o o k s o f t h e i r
w r i t i n g n e a r t h e e n d o f t h e i r n e w s p a p e r
c a r e e r s , s o I g u e s s i t ’s m y t u r n ”
T h e b o o k i n c l u d e s a f o r e w o r d f r o m
w e l l - k n o w n Tw i n C i t i e s s y n d i c a t e d e n t e r -
t a i n m e n t w r i t e r Ti m L a m m e r s w h o
w o r k e d w i t h K o v a r a s a n e d i t o r i n t h e
1 9 9 0 s K o v a r
r e m a i n s o n
s t a f f a t H e r a l d
J o u r n a l
P u b l i s h i n g i n
W i n s t e d w h e r e
h e h a s h a n -
d l e d a v a r i e t y
o f r o l e s , i n c l u d i n g
b e i n g a
m i n o r i t y
o w n e r f o r 2 0
y e a r s . T h e n e w s p a p e r b l o o d c o n t i n u e s t o
r u n i n t h e f a m i l y a s D a l e ’s s o n , K i p ,
w o r k s a c r o s s t h e r o o m a s a s p o r t s e d i t o r
D a l e h a s w o n a n u m b e r o f a w a r d s f o r
w r i t i n g , p h o t o g r a p h y a n d a d v e r t i s i n g
E a r l i e r t h i s y e a r, h e w a s i n d u c t e d i n t o t h e
M i n n e s o t a N e w s p a p e r A s s o c i a t i o n ’s H a l f
C e n t u r y C l u b . H e h a s b e e n a f i e r c e a d v o -
c a t e f o r f r e e s p e e c h a n d j o u r n a l i s t i c
e t h i c s , o f t e n i m p l o r i n g p e o p l e t o t h i n k
f o r t h e m s e l v e s .
J o s e p h Wo r e Te n n i s S h o e s : S t o
ISWNE Foundation Contributors
Stringer ($10 to $99)
Ellen Albanese
Elizabeth Hansen
Janice Hunt
Barbara Selvin
Faith and John M Wylie II
Cub reporter ($100 to $199)
David Burke
Al Cross
Gloria Freeland
Jan and Bill Haupt
John Marshall
Brad Martin
Nancy Slepicka
Charles Wallace
Jon Whitney
Clyde Wills
Guy and Marcia Wood
Copy editor ($200 to $299)
Anonymous
Larry Atkinson
Frank Garred
Vickie Canfield Peters
Lisha Van Nieuwenhove
Kathy Tretter
Thomas and Carol Ward
Editorial Page editor ($300 to $399)
Kris O’Leary and Kevin Flink
Roger and Deborah Givens
Sharon Raffer
Tom Wills
Managing editor ($400 to $499)
Gary and Helen Sosniecki
Editor in chief ($500 to $999)
Publisher ($1,000 to $9,999)
Craig Harrington
Marquita Porter and Elliott Freireich
Robert B. Trapp
Cheryl and Jim Wormley
Total raised: $10,210
Multi Media Channels editor launches Curly L ambeau book
MMC began as a newspaper publishing company in Denmark, Wisconsin, in 1953 and expanded into other markets with community publications under the leadership of the founder, longtime ISWNE member Frank Wood
Multi Media Channels (MMC) senior editor Kris Leonhardt has written a book on Curly Lambeau, the Green Bay Packers’ first head coach and general manager
Lambeau – The Boy Behind Green Bay Football chronicles his life from birth through death and includes photos supplied by Green Bay area archives, including the Neville Public Museum, UW-Green Bay Archives and Packers Hall of Fame, Inc.
The book also features a foreword written by current Packers Hall of Fame, Inc. President Don Sipes and is tailored toward both the casual football fan and the die-hard fanatic
“This book captures the heart and history of the Green Bay Packers as not just a sports team, but a symbol of resilience and unwavering belief,” said MMC Publisher Patrick Wood. “At its core is the story of Curly Lambeau, a man who refused to let challenges stop him from building a legacy Against all odds, he kept the Packers alive through sheer determination, transforming
them into one of the most revered teams in NFL history
“Lambeau Field stands as a fitting tribute to his passion and persistence, but this book tells the full story of his journey a fascinating tale of dedication that will inspire fans and readers alike. If you love football, community and tales of grit, this book is a must read.”
Signed copies are available through MMC at https://shopmmclocal.com/product/lambe au and also available on Amazon at https://a co/d/31K2Arc
The book will also be accessible in the coming months in the Waupaca, Wausau and Stevens Point communities, as well as other local book providers throughout the state.
Leonhardt honed her literary skills at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin while obtaining her communications degree She also served in the United States Army, receiving an honorable discharge in 1997
She began a part-time journalism career in 2001, while working in a family business, and joined MMC fulltime in 2016.
As a part of MMC, Leonhardt has been
recognized in the communities she serves for her work in historic preservation.
Leonhardt is also a coordinator for the “Pass it Forward” community journalism internship initiative developed through a partnership with the Green Bay Packers Give Back, Nicolet Bank, UWGreen Bay, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, St. Norbert College, UW-Stevens Point and Notre Dame de la Baie Academy. She has written two other historical nonfiction titles
KRIS LEONHARDT
MMC is the owner of more than 30 print publications, including 22 weeklies and 17 digital channels that serve the central, northern and eastern regions of Wisconsin.
Book release event at Bosse’s News Depot with Don Sipes and Kris Leonhardt.
Hutchinson Tribune work ing with Kansas Publishing Ventures to secure future of publication
The Hutchinson Tribune Hutchinson, Kansas Feb 19, 2025
The Hutchinson Tribune has entered into negotiations with Kansas Publishing Ventures to secure the Tribune’s future and ensure its longstanding health after its co-founder leaves for college in the fall
Michael Glenn, a Trinity Catholic High School student and co-founder of The Hutchinson Tribune, reached out to Kansas Publishing Ventures Majority Owners Joey and Lindsey Young when he and Gina Long originally launched the Tribune a few years ago.
Glenn and Long, a research librarian, have been running the Tribune part-time and growing its audience since the summer of 2023 Both have been featured in Editor & Publisher magazine, the “Hatteberg’s People” television show, KCUR radio, Spectrum News and other outlets for their leadership in seeing a need in their community and tackling it head-on with the Tribune
“Joey and Lindsey have been excellent mentors in journalism, and they are some of the most trusted people I know in this industry,” Glenn said “As I step back from Hutch to pursue a college education, the Youngs and KPV will ensure Hutchinson has a locally owned newspaper that advocates for its community.”
Joey and Lindsey Young are both Reno County natives Joey a 2003 graduate of Buhler High School and Lindsey a 2002 graduate of Haven High School They are extremely interested in making sure quality journalism continues in Hutchinson.
“Lots of folks in Hutch know I have wanted to do something here from the day I found out Gatehouse was purchasing the Hutchinson News, ” Joey said “I worked at The News for a couple of years, know
how good that paper once was, and I look forward to expanding on what Michael and Gina have started with the Tribune and hope we can ensure Hutchinson never goes without quality local journalism ever again.”
Kansas Publishing Ventures started a newspaper to compete with a privateequity-owned legacy newspaper in Newton 10 years ago, so they know what it takes to compete and thrive in a competitive media market
“There are a lot of things I wish we would have known when we launched in Newton,” Joey said. “We are going into this Hutchinson project with our eyes fully open about what it takes to start and maintain a publication Those experiences launching in Newton will only make our Hutchinson venture that much stronger ” Hutchinson native Jackson Swearer will be a co-owner and the publication’s publisher when the purchase is complete in May.
“Local ownership is important to us and to Michael and Gina, so if we were going to enter into negotiations, we wanted to make sure the public knew we had someone locally with skin in the game who was going to be involved at an intimate level,” Joey said.
“After several rewarding years working alongside business owners across Reno County, I’m eager to dive into this exciting entrepreneurial venture this summer,” Swearer said “Local journalism offers a powerful way to deepen my commitment to serving Hutchinson and Reno County, helping build a more informed and connected community.”
The transition is planned to begin in May, with Glenn staying on through the summer to lead editorial operations before going off to college in the fall “Readers, subscribers and supporters
of the Tribune should look to the future with hope and excitement, as I am,” Glenn said “While change can be difficult, I firmly believe Hutchinson’s publication will only improve as time goes on” Kansas Publishing Ventures has been featured in Editor & Publisher’s “10 Publishers that do it Right,” on PBS’s “Market-To-Market,” by Spectrum News and in several trade journals as an example of what can be done with quality, local ownership in a media market Joey and Lindsey regularly travel the country to speak at state press associations about their experience in rural journalism.
“Michael and Gina have done an amazing thing in Hutchinson already,” Joey said “We want to bring resources, our expertise and a full-time effort to growing what they have started in our hometown ” Joey and Lindsey both spend a lot of time in Hutchinson, with both their families and lots of friends located in Reno County. Joey’s parents own Scuttlebutt’s Coffee in the Clayworks in Hutchinson. Lindsey’s parents are both retired and volunteer locally
“Hutch is home,” Joey said “Lindsey and I met at Hutchinson Community College We eventually left Hutchinson to start a newspaper in Newton, because, at the time, Hutchinson had a great familyowned paper. There was no need for what we wanted to do at the time. Now there is, and we are excited that Michael and Gina trust us to take what they have started and shepherd it forward ”
“Launching a local publication in Newton has been so rewarding for us over the past decade,” Lindsey said. “We have such a passion for community journalism, and building a robust local news product in Hutchinson is such an exciting opportunity ”
Dennis Brown presides over the annual Kentucky Press Association's awards banquet Jan. 24 at the
as president of the association for 2025. More than 200 were on hand for the
will
Brown takes reins as KPA president
The Lewis County Herald Publisher Dennis Brown assumed the presidency of the Kentucky Press Association Jan. 24 during a Changing of the Guard luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington.
Brown has served as a KPA board member for many years and has held the offices of treasurer, vice president and presidentelect on the executive committee before moving into the position of president of the organization last week
He says he looks forward to the challenges and rewards the association will face in the coming year and told those attending last week’s convention that “I won’t let you down ”
A contingency of Lewis County supporters and several friends attended the luncheon and awards banquet when Brown made the pledge
Trace Creek Construction’s Sam Howard,
a lifelong friend of Brown’s, spoke during the luncheon Leslie Collier, with The Bridge Church, offered a word of prayer to open the event.
“I have had 87 years of combined experience in broadcast and print journalism,” Brown told the luncheon crowd of more than 100 “Combined, not consecutive,” he stressed
“Shout out to News Guru Kevin Slimp for his sage advice and friendship over the years,” Brown said during the luncheon address. “It is partly his fault that I am standing here today.
“A special shout out to my biggest supporter and love of my life, Tammy It’s mostly her fault that I am alive and standing here today,” he added
He also recognized the young journalists in the room for their contributions to journalism in Kentucky. “They are our future,”
Brown said
The 2025 KPA Board of Directors includes a few new members and a long list of experienced, committed members.
Jane Ashley Pace, publisher of The Oldham Era and Henry County Local, served as president in 2024 and passed the gavel to Brown She will serve as immediate past president on the executive committee this year
Mike Scogin, publisher of the Georgetown News-Graphic, is presidentelect and Charles Myrick, publisher of The Mountain Advocate in Barbourville, was elected vice president.
Bruce Maples, publisher of Forward Kentucky, was again elected treasurer of Kentucky Press Association and Kentucky Press Service
Hyatt Regency in Lexington. Brown
serve
banquet, which wrapped up the association's annual convention.
An open letter to my Canadian friends
Tim L. Waltner Publisher Emeritus Freeman Courier Freeman, South Dakota
March 6, 2025
I’m sorry
On behalf of what I believe to be many Americans, I apologize for the disparaging and hurtful statements President Donald Trump has made about Canada. Although I didn’t vote for him, he is our country’s president and when he speaks some may assume he speaks for the American people
He certainly doesn’t speak for me when he says Canada would be better off as the 51st state in the U.S.A. He doesn’t speak for me when he says the U.S. subsidizes Canada.
He doesn’t speak for me when he says Canada’s coastline is surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships He doesn’t speak for me when he insults, belittles and undermines the government and people of Canada
I’ve had friends from Canada for most of my life and your experiences and perspectives have enriched my life.
The first Canadians I came to know beyond casual encounters were three women who were part of the voluntary service unit my wife, Mary (Bix), and I were part of from 1970-72 We were living in the poor and rundown – now gentrified – Over the Rhine area of Cincinnati. Ravaged by neglect, poverty and racism, this rough-andtumble inner-city neighborhood was the home for a dozen volunteers with Mennonite Central Committee, a global church-related relief agency with headquarters in Pennsylvania We had accepted assignments to work with programs seeking to assist community residents in educational, employment and social services agencies. Marg Wiebe, Mary Lou Hess and Wendy Piper – all Canadian citizens – were among our group that also included Americans from literally across the country – from Princeton, New Jersey, through the heartland of America to Fresno, California
Where we came from never mattered We shared a commitment to peace, justice and sharing the love demonstrated in the life and teaching of Jesus. Our respective roots were never an issue; on the contrary, our diversity enriched our experience.
Our Cincinnati years were among the best
in our lives and our Canadian friends were an important part of that.
I’m grateful; thank you * * *
My next significant encounter with Canadians came 20 years later when I attended my first summer conference sponsored by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) in 1993. Held on the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings, it brought folks from across America, Canada and the U K together to talk about community journalism I’ve written before about ISWNE; it’s a group of (mostly) small-town journalists from around the world who strive to be a positive force in their respective communities.
I immediately found my tribe with ISWNE, and one of the first to make me feel that way was Brian Mazza, who edited the weekly newspaper in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta He was smart, inquisitive, welcoming and down to earth We clicked from the moment our conversation started, and we parted for our respective homes as new friends.
The next year Brian hosted the ISWNE Summer Conference in Calgary, Alberta, and extended the same warm welcome to the Waltners when we made the 1994 conference the start of an amazing family vacation
We met scores of Canadian journalists on their turf We learned so much, and the wonderful, strong relationships forged there continue to this day.
We’ve gathered for our annual summer conferences in Canada six times in the last 30 years; we’ve been coast to coast – from Victoria to Prince Edward Island (and places in between), and the friendships with Canadian journalists continue to grow whenever we gather, wherever we gather
Our time in Canada and with Canadians continues to enrich our lives, and we’ve gained powerful insights and perspectives.
We’ve learned a great deal in our conversations with you We’ve learned that we share so much in common We’ve learned that difference in geography pales in comparison to our shared attitudes about how we treat people, how we view the world, how we treat our fellow human beings, how we act personally and how we act professionally.
Most importantly, we’ve been reminded there’s a lot to be learned and that not all
wisdom resides in the United States; none of us have all the answers on the best way to get things done I admire Canada for its cultural diversity and inclusive spirit.
I appreciate Canada’s commitment to health care, education, public safety and employment opportunities And I love your beautiful landscapes that stretch from coast to coast.
TIM L. WALTNER
And so, I’m embarrassed and apologetic when President Trump says things that belittle, demean and marginalize the country that you, my friends, call home
I’m sorry
* * * * *
This summer, South Dakota will be welcoming members of ISWNE back to South Dakota for a summer conference for the third time (Brookings in 1993, Rapid City in 2007 and Brookings again in 2025) and I’m looking forward to welcoming you, my old friends – and hopefully some new ones –from Canada (and beyond)
I’m looking forward to our conversations and the opportunity to learn how you view the current political climate in both our countries.
Most importantly, I look forward to reminding you that not all Americans share the bombastic and demeaning rhetoric coming from our president that suggests that Canadians are inferior On the contrary, many of us are embarrassed
I want to tell you – face to face that I’m sorry.
Tim L. Waltner is the retired publisher of the Freeman Courier and a past ISWNE president He and his family are welcoming those coming to Brookings for the ISWNE summer conference for a pre-conference visit to Freeman They look forward to seeing colleagues and friends –including those from Canada – in Freeman July 7-8 and give them a hearty small-town American welcome. Email Tim at timlwaltner@gmail com
Let ’s c all it what it is
By Ross Connelly
The Hardwick Gazette Hardwick, Vermont
Feb 26, 2025
This letter to the editor was also published in two other Vermont weeklies the News & Citizen in Stowe and The Chronicle in Barton and two dailies the Caledonian-Record in St Johnsbury and the Times-Argus in Montpelier
For the past few weeks since Jan 20, to be exact “DOGE” is the word that captures the attention of the printed and
broadcast press, and the public But how best to declare the meaning and pronunciation of this amalgamation of letters?
(Lexicographers, please take note )
It certainly is not an official government agency nor department nor commission, nor whatever, as Congress never created it nor granted it authority. But it is, apparently, in Washington, D.C., the seat of our government of, by and for the people, or that town used to be
As for the sound the letters make when pushed out together, as with any acronym that tries to squeeze or scramble or leave evidence a group of words has a new
sound and a new meaning, I suggest, (now, step carefully!), for the sake of clear enunciation, let’s add a few letters. (The more the merrier!) Let’s now call DOGE what it is: DOGEE DOO.
West Branch Times third best in Iowa
T h e I o w a N e w s p a p e r A s s o c i a t i o n o n
F e b . 6 n a m e d t h e W e s t B r a n c h Ti m e s t h e
t h i r d - b e s t s m a l l w e e k l y n e w s p a p e r i n t h e
s t a t e
T h e p a p e r s h a r e s t h e t i t l e w i t h t h e
Ta m a - To l e d o N e w s C h r o n i c l e , w h i c h t i e d
t h e Ti m e s i n t o t a l p o i n t s t o e a r n t h e d e si g n a t i o n .
O n F e b . 6 a t t h e a n n u a l I N A c o n v e n -
t i o n , t h e Ti m e s a l s o t o o k 1 0 c a t e g o r y
a w a r d s c o v e r i n g d e s i g n , o p i n i o n a n d
n e w s w r i t i n g , g r a p h i c s , p h o t o g r a p h y, a n d
s o c i a l m e d i a u s e
Ti m e s P u b l i s h e r S t u C l a r k , w h o o w n s
C o n s e r v a t i v e P u b l i s h i n g o f Ti p t o n , c o m -
m e n d e d t h e s t a f f o n i t s a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s
“ C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s t o G r e g o r y N o r f l e e t
a n d t h e s t a f f o f t h e We s t B r a n c h Ti m e s , ”
h e s a i d . “ T h e y w o r k h a r d t o c o n s i s t e n t l y
p r o d u c e a g r e a t w e e k l y n e w s p a p e r. Ye a r
a f t e r y e a r t h e I o w a N e w s p a p e r
A s s o c i a t i o n r e c o g n i z e s t h a t e f f o r t ”
I n a d d i t i o n t o i t s t h i r d - p l a c e g e n e r a l
e x c e l l e n c e a w a r d , t h e l o c a l n e w s p a p e r
a l s o w o n f i r s t p l a c e f o r c o v e r a g e o f b u s i -
n e s s , b e s t u s e o f s o c i a l m e d i a a n d b e s t
p e r s o n a l i t y f e a t u r e s t o r y
T h e Ti m e s w o n s e c o n d p l a c e f o r c o v -
e r a g e o f c o u r t & c r i m e a n d b e s t u s e o f
g r a p h i c s A n d , t h e p u b l i c a t i o n e a r n e d
t h i r d p l a c e f o r b e s t f r o n t p a g e , t o t a l
n e w s p a p e r d e s i g n , b e s t s p o r t s f e a t u r e
p h o t o , b e s t b r e a k i n g n e w s s t o r y a n d
e x c e l l e n c e i n e d i t o r i a l w r i t i n g .
T h e K a n s a s P r e s s A s s o c i a t i o n j u d g e d
t h e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3 , 2 0 0 e n t r i e s s p r e a d
o v e r f i v e c l a s s e s S m a l l w e e k l i e s , o r
“ C l a s s I , ” c o v e r s w e e k l y n e w s p a p e r s w i t h
7 5 5 c i r c u l a t i o n a n d u n d e r
I n t h e g e n e r a l e x c e l l e n c e c a t e g o r y, t h e
Ti m e s f i n i s h e d b e h i n d f i r s t - p l a c e w i n n e r
S o l o n E c o n o m i s t , p u b l i s h e d b y t h e D a i l y
I o w a n o f I o w a C i t y a n d t h e A c k l e y Wo r l d -
J o u r n a l , w h i c h i s p u b l i s h e d b y Ti m e s
C i t i z e n C o m m u n i c a t i o n s o f I o w a F a l l s
I n t h e c o v e r a g e o f b u s i n e s s c a t e g o r y,
t h e Ti m e s s u b m i t t e d s e v e r a l s t o r i e s
r e g a r d i n g C r e s t v i e w N u r s i n g H o m e ,
N o r d e x , t r a d e l a b o r a n d n e w b u s i n e s s o p e n i n g s . “ D e t a i l e d , c o m p l e x c o v e r a g e o f a v a r ie t y o f t o p i c s o f l o c a l i n t e r e s t t o r e a d e r s , ”
w r o t e t h e j u d g e
U n d e r b e s t u s e o f s o c i a l m e d i a , E d i t o r
G r e g o r y N o r f l e e t a n d S p o r t s E d i t o r
M a t t h e w D i c k i n s o n w o n f i r s t p l a c e . “ S o l i d
u s e o f t h e t h r e e p r o m i n e n t s o c i a l m e d i a
p l a t f o r m s : X , F a c e b o o k a n d I n s t a g r a m .
G o o d u s e o f R e e l s o n I n s t a g r a m , ” w r o t e
t h e j u d g e
T h e Ti m e s w o n t h e o n l y a w a r d i n t h i s
c a t e g o r y
F o r b e s t p e r s o n a l i t y f e a t u r e
ROSS CONNELLY
Fuel the offense in pursuit of adver tising revenue
By Jim Pumarlo
Publishers typically enter a new year with a lengthy to-do list. Among the greatest challenges is growing revenue in the fractured media landscape. Long gone are the days when the local newspaper was the premier advertising choice for auto dealers, grocers and Realtors, and the first stop for help-wanted ads
Newspapers must remind and reinforce the importance of the local press to readers and advertisers alike. I suggest taking a cue from the sports playbook: Your best defense is a strong offense. In other words, show the business community you have a pulse of local economic dynamics just as you document happenings in local public affairs, schools, sports Pay attention to and dedicate resources into everyday coverage of the broad business beat of employers and employees.
I don’t suggest the newspaper becomes a mouthpiece for the local chamber of commerce. That said, do not discount the importance of such organizations as a valuable source of interesting and educational news – and solid content Create a mindset to be the first to report news in the marketplace as well as from City Hall. Brainstorm business coverage, and the standard fare of stories is likely to pop up. New businesses. New owners and significant management changes. New locations and expansions Anniversaries Merchants with distinctive products Strikes and other labor stoppages
Those stories should be reported, but business coverage is so much broader. The list is limited only by newsroom resources. Here’s a handful of ideas that can be pursued most any time:
• Federal and state agencies regularly release a variety of economic statistics Identify a handful and publish them Select those where you can compare local numbers with state numbers; examine figures from a year ago. Expand the package with stories where you can illustrate stats with local faces.
• How important is international trade to your region? Provide a local perspective into the global economy, profiling local companies that are developing foreign markets.
• How are companies combating rising health care costs?
• More high school graduates entering college require remedial courses What do local employers say about the quality of job applicants?
• How important is e-commerce locally? Are companies hindered by broadband access? How are businesses best delivering messages to customers?
Expanding reports about employers and employees is all about generating ideas With a few easy steps, newsrooms can alert the business community to their interest in expanding coverage. For example:
• Include a notice with all advertising invoices asking for company news. Items can range from a new hire or promotion to a significant change in operations.
• Scour the want ads regularly Are companies hiring to start up or expand an existing facility?
• Check out building permits for commercial activity.
• Utilities can be another source of business movement. Are services being sought, expanded?
• Tour the town. Take a different route to work or to lunch and pay attention to signs in vacant lots or in business windows Is there news as yet unreported?
• Connect regularly with business and labor associations. They often have an ear to the ground on workplace activity. You may not be able to immediately report the news, but you’ll have a heads-up and be prepared when it happens.
• Don’t forget the collective eyes and ears of your entire newspaper family when it comes to searching story ideas Advertising staffs are especially valuable in gathering leads on business news.
Demonstrate your interest in expanding
coverage of the local marketplace, and you’ll likely be surprised at the flow of ideas. Package business news so readers immediately identify it as a section. Many stories may prove solid content for the front page as well.
I hear the immediate pushback. Staffs already are pushed to the limit covering the everyday grist How can we incorporate a business beat? As with any new initiative, take baby steps Set reasonable, achievable benchmarks.
Improving business coverage is a shared responsibility. Businesses must be comfortable that reporters can get the story right, and reporters deserve to have all the facts including those that may not be so flattering It boils down to trust Reaching a common understanding of business coverage is at the foundation of defining the distinction between news and advertising.
Begin a conversation among the principal players within your newspaper and within the community. Develop a plan and share it with readers in a column. Incorporating the marketplace into regular coverage can spell dividends for news and advertising departments alike
Jim Pumarlo is former editor of the Red Wing (Minnesota) Republican Eagle. He writes, speaks and provides training on community newsroom success strategies. He is author of “Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage,” “Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Coverage” and “Bad News and Good Judgment: A Guide to Reporting on Sensitive Issues in Small-Town Newspapers.” He can be reached at jim@pumarlo.com.
JIM PUMARLO
A B O U T I S W N E
A B O U T I S W N E
The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) was founded in 1955 at Southern Illinois University (SIU) by Howard R Long, then chair of SIU’s Department of Journalism at Carbondale, and Houstoun Waring, then editor of the Littleton (Colorado) Independent.
ISWNE headquarters were at Northern Illinois University at Dekalb from 1976 to 1992 and at South Dakota State University in Brookings from 1992 to 1999. Missouri Southern State University in Joplin served as the headquarters from 1999 to 2024
The ISWNE’s purpose is to help improve standards of editorial writing and news writing and to encourage strong independent editorial voices within community journalism, sustained and strengthened by sound business practices. The society seeks to fulfill its purpose by holding annual conferences, facilitating idea and solution sharing by members, mentoring and recognizing excellence, supporting member education and student internships, issuing publications, advocating for press freedom and encouraging international exchanges
There are ISWNE members in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Nepal and France There are subscribers to Grassroots Editor, the society’s biannual journal, in still more countries. This publication will be made available in alternative formats upon request to Chad Stebbins at 417-438-2181
Dr. Chad Stebbins Editor & ISWNE Executive Director Executive Director, Missouri Press Association Missouri Press Association 802 Locust St. Columbia, MO 65201 (417) 438-2181
