USPS Update
Wall of Faces
2014 the WNA Way
Saturday mail service is a go, but there’s still much in limbo at the end of the Congressional session., according to the NNA.
With WNA members’ help, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s Wall of Faces Project nears completion in Wisconsin.
WNA Executive DIrector Beth Bennet highlights the association’s successes throughout the year.
See Page 5.
See Page 4.
See Page 3.
Bulletin THE
News and information for the Wisconsin newspaper industry
DECEMBER 2014
... among the world’s oldest press associations
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Kaiser to Step Down, Stanley to Step into Editor Role Pulitzer-Prize winning editor Martin Kaiser announces plans to leave the newspaper, so managing editor George Stanley will fill his long-time colleague’s shoes. The editor who led the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to nine Pulitzer nods is slated to hand the reins to a past Wisconsin Newspaper Association Board member, his managing editor for years. Editor and Senior Vice President of Digital Content Marty Kaiser will leave the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in February. Kaiser, 64, is also vice president of Journal Communications. He led the newspaper to three Pulitzer Prizes and six other nominations in his 20 years there. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Managing Editor George Stanley, who sat on the WNA Board of Directors from 2019-2012, will assume Kaiser’s responsibilities. The change comes ahead of the 2015 merger of Journal Communications and E.W. Scripps Co., making the Journal Sentinel the primary newspaper of a new media company, Journal Media Group. “The work of Mr. Kaiser and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has
supported open government and advanced the health and safety of all,” said WNA Executive Director Beth Bennett. Kaiser and Stanley share a commitment to and a passion for news. “It’s impossible to overstate how much Marty has meant to this newspaper – and by extension to the community of readers Martin Kaiser it serves,” Tom Koetting, deputy managing editor for local news at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, told the WNA. “On one level, Marty’s legacy is building a nationalaward winning newsroom that has been a model of excellence during a time of near constant upheaval. He loves journalists and journalism – nothing excited him more than the next big story, the next innovation, the next great job candidate.” Under Kaiser’s editorship, the Journal Sentinel won Pulitzer prizes for local reporting in 2008 and 2010, as well as explanatory reporting in 2011. The newspaper was a finalist for Pulitzer
Prizes another six times during Kaiser’s tenure. Stanley will take his position amid a flurry of industry and media change. “George’s commitment to excellence is the same as Marty’s – that transition will be seamless,” Koetting said. “He’s also a Wisconsinite to the core, with a firm belief that high quality George Stanley journalism can improve our community and our state. He approaches news from the perspective of readers – what information do they need right now, what would make their lives easier, what would help them understand an issue, what would entertain them.” Stanley is likely to develop new channels of community engagement and new methods to hit targeted audiences, Koetting said. The newsroom is also likely to continue integrating audio, video, motion graphics, interactive data and social networks under Stanley’s leadership, he said.
Wisconsin Newspapers Give Back for the Holidays Many members are donating resources to promote happier holidays their communities. Through charitable giving campaigns, donation drives, publishing art and giving away subscriptions, Wisconsin Newspaper Association member newspapers are making sure the holiday spirit spreads through their readership. The Wisconsin State Journal’s Helping Hands asked readers aged 18 and younger to explain how they would help a friend, neighbor or community member with $200 during the winter holiday. Program coordinators will choose at least 10 letters and facilitate the writers’ plans. The selected letters will be featured in the publication without identifying information. The State Journal’s Empty Stocking Club, a tradition started by staffers in 1918, is accepting donations to buy toys for less fortunate children. The newspaper ran house ads and sent an envelope insert for donations, as well as publicized the website emptystockingclub.com. The annual Holiday Toy Depot at the Alliant Energy Center allowed parents and guardians to select their children’s toys from those bought with donations. Gannett Wisconsin Media’s annual Stock the Shelves campaign surpassed its goal of $500,000 donated to nearly 100 food pantries throughout the state. Gannett’s 10 Wisconsin newspapers publicized the drive with ads and articles, like a Sheboygan Press piece about community members who rely on local pantries and others who donated large amounts. The Green Bay Packers
donated $50,000 to the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s portion Stock the Shelves campaign. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is continuing its tradition of giving its readers art in the place of the lead story on Christmas Day. Local museums, galleries, artists and readers nominate Wisconsin artists’ seasonal paintings, prints or drawings. Publisher Elizabeth Brenner, editor Martin Kaiser and art critic Mary Louise Schumacher will choose the piece. Many of the artworks not selected for the front page will be shown on JSOnline.com. Delta Publications in Kiel’s Kids’ Album encourages children to create Christmas and New Year drawings for the Tempo and Tri-County News Kids Album. Advertisers can also sponsor kids’ drawings. The Vilas County News-Review, through its Eagle River’s Warm the Children program, provides winter clothes for needy children. The newspaper collected the donations and published the names of those who made them. Newspapers like the Markesan Regional Reporter and the Dodgeville Pionier have been giving away subscriptions to their newspaper. Many newspapers gave to charitable organizations by advertising their holiday campaigns.
For more on community involvement during the Holiday, see Nathaniel Shuda, on Page 4.
Jamie Mara, managing ditor at Post-Crescent Media, volunteers during a Feeding America mobile pantry, part of the Stock the Shelves kick off event on October 9 in Appleton. Wm. Glasheen/Post-Crescent Media