May PressLines - Convention Information

May 2014

Official publication of the Illinois Press Association

Illinois

www.illinoispress.org

INSIDE

Convention

Information

Pages 10-13!

plus

Illinois Associated Press Media Editors

Annual Awards Ceremony & Luncheon

Page 2 Illinois PressLines / May 2014

ILLINOIS PRESSLINES (USPS 006-862) ispublished bimonthly for $30 per year forIllinois Press Association members by theIllinois Press Association, 900 Community

Drive, Springfield, IL, 62703. ©Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

Volume 21 – May 2014 Number 3 Date of Issue: 5/6/2014

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to ILLINOIS PRESS LINES, 900 CommunityDrive, Springfield, IL 62703. Periodicalpostage paid at Spring field, Illinois and

Peoria, Illinois.

Illinois PressLines is printed and distributed courtesy of GateHouseMedia, Inc. in Peoria and Springfield.

Barry J. Locher, EditorE-mail [email protected]

Illinois

2014BOARD OF DIRECTORS - OFFICERS

Karen Flax, PresidentTribune Company, ChicagoSam Fisher, Vice President

Bureau County Republican, PrincetonSandy Macfarland, TreasurerChicago Daily Law Bulletin

John Galer, Immediate Past PresidentThe Journal-News, Hillsboro

DIRECTORSTodd Eschman

Belleville News-Democrat Community Newspapers

Kathy Farren Kendall County Record, Yorkville

Beverly Joyce Danville Commercial-News

Jim Kirk Sun-Times MediaWendy Martin

Mason County Democrat, HavanaTony Scott

Galesburg Register-MailCaroll Stacklin

GateHouse Media, Inc.L. Nicole Trottie

West Suburban Journal, Maywood

Dennis DeRossett, Executive Director

I just received an email from a col-league seeking ideas on leadershipconferences as she admitted to a needto be “motivated and reinvigorated.”After what was a seemingly endlessand harsh Illinois winter, I’m certainmany of us find ourselves with thatsame need to be motivated and re-energized.

My quick and first response wasgoing to be telling her about theIllinois Press Association conventionhere in Springfield on June 11-12-13and the great line up of speakers andsessions on the program. Due to trav-el distance, it’s probably not an optionfor her; but, for all IPA members, thisyear’s convention—just over sixweeks away—is a really good andaffordable opportunity to get “moti-vated and reinvigorated” about thegreat and challenging industry we allwork in.

The complete program line up canbe found in the center of this edition ofPressLines. A program brochure hasalso been mailed to all publishers, edi-tors and advertising managers and,also, the convention website has beenlaunched and can be found at conven-tion.illinoispress.org.

Barry Locher, foundation director,and Lynne Lance, director of memberrelations, have put a lot of work intofinalizing this year’s convention pro-gram. The session topics are timelyand will be very informative and edu-

cational, and the speakers are industryexperts. The information transcendsall-sized newspaper markets and will“motivate and reinvigorate” attendeesfrom the smallest weekly newspaperto the largest dailies.

We urge you to register early to takeadvantage of the early-bird discount.Registration fees remain the same aslast year and are structured in a way tomake it more affordable for newspa-pers to bring several staff members toconvention. This is helpful especiallyto those newspapers whose staff mem-bers have won multiple awards in theadvertising and editorial contest.

The annual convention also pro-vides networking opportunities andthe chance to meet long-time friendsand colleagues. We hope to see youthere and guarantee—yes, we guaran-tee—you will go away “motivated andreinvigorated” to return to your com-

munities and continue the very impor-tant and special job each of you havewith producing community newspa-pers across many platforms.

Email or call us if you have anyquestions about convention or the reg-istration process. Again, we look for-ward to seeing you at the IPA conven-tion here in Springfield on June 11-12-13.

···Speaking of conventions, follow-

ing this year’s event will be a very,very special event in 2015—the150th Anniversary of the IllinoisPress Association. ThisSesquicentennial Anniversary is aremarkable milestone and we willcelebrate it in many ways through-out 2015 but, especially so at the150th Annual IPA Convention onJune 10-11-12, 2015.

Mark your calendars now andplan in your 2015 budget for the fullthree-day event and, also, to bringmore staff to celebrate a truly spe-cial event of the Illinois newspaperindustry. Watch for more details tocome.

···Thank you for your membership

and for your support of the IllinoisPress Association and of the IllinoisPress Foundation!

[email protected]

900 Community Drive, Springfield, IL 62703Ph. 217-241-1300, Fax 217-241-1301

www.illinoispress.org

IPA STAFF — PHONE 217-241-1300FAX 217-241-1301

900 COMMUNITY DR., SPRINGFIELD, ILDennis DeRossett, Executive Director

Ext. 222 — [email protected]

Jeffrey Holman, Director of Advertising


Barry Locher, Director of Foundation


Lynne Lance, Director of

Member Relations


Josh Sharp, Director of Government Relations


EXECUTIVEREPORT

DennisDeRossett

ExecutiveDirector

Convention promises fresh ideasSpeakers and sessions offer opportunity to recharge

May 2014 / Illinois PressLines Page 3

The Illinois Legislature justreturned from a two-week Easterbreak and now is in the finalmonth of this year’s regular ses-sion, which is set to end on May31st. At this juncture, we are verypleased to report that IPA-backedlegislation, House Bill 4733, intro-duced to remedy issues arisingfrom the management of inde-pendent contractors, has success-fully passed the full House by avote of 89-24. It now heads to theSenate for consideration. A bigthanks goes out to IPA Boardmembers Sam Fisher of Princetonand John Galer of Hillsboro fortheir help in securing sponsors forthis bill; Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) in the House andSen. Andy Manar (D-Staunton) inthe Senate are moving this meas-ure on the IPA’s behalf.

The IPA is very pleased to seethe adoption of House Resolution895, which calls for subject matterhearings into the administrationand funding of high school athlet-ics by the Illinois High SchoolAssociation (IHSA). On a vote of55-51, HR 895 was adopted by thefull House; it was sponsored byRep. Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) who also serves as the

Chairwoman of the HouseElementary and SecondaryEducation Committee. This com-mittee is specifically tasked withconducting the hearings called forin HR 895. There is yet no time-line or proposed locations forthese hearings, but they will mostlikely begin sometime after theGeneral Assembly’s scheduledadjournment date of May 31. Welook forward to increased trans-parency and accountability as oneof the results of these hearings;also, we will keep IPA membersupdated on dates and locations ofthe hearings.

Taxes and general businessissues remain a top priority for theIPA this session as well. Whilethere has been no substantive leg-

islation introduced to date, earlierthis session we heard talk about apossible attempt to legislativelyeliminate the sales tax exemptionon newsprint and ink. A few leg-islators who were asked earlierthis year how they felt about thisissue were mostly supportive ofkeeping the exemption on thebooks. However, one legislatorthat deserves special recognitionis Rep. Dave McSweeney (R-Barrington) who said, "I believethe sales tax exemption providedto the ink-on-paper news mediadeserves to remain in place.These publications still play a crit-ical role in Illinois in keeping thepublic informed." The IPA is gladto have Rep. McSweeney on ourside regarding this importantindustry issue. We will also bebusy in May working to renew theGraphic Arts and MachineryEquipment sales tax exemptionalong with the accompanyingManufacturers Purchase Credit(MPC). These are importantindustry tax incentives that aresupposed to sunset (i.e. beeliminated) on August 30, 2014.The IPA is hoping to extend theseexemptions for at least another

IPA pleased to see backed legislation move forward

A resolution recently adopted bythe full House of Representativeswill cause the legislature to examinethe practices of the Illinois HighSchool Association (IHSA). HouseResolution 895 encourages theHouse Elementary and SecondaryEducation to hold hearings on theIHSA’s administration and fundingof high school sports, the safety of

high school athletes, the costs andincome associated with the adminis-tration of high school sports and tofurther examine the issues of trans-parency and accountability in rela-tion to high school athletic and aca-demic programs in Illinois. HouseResolution 895 is sponsored by Rep.Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) andwas officially adopted by the Illinois

House of Representative on April 7,by a vote of 55-51.

“This resolution is about demand-ing transparency and accountabilityfrom an organization that overseesthe health, safety and educationaldevelopment of thousands of Illinoisstudents,” said state Rep. ChapaLaVia. “Citizens throughout Illinoishave been calling for more trans-

parency in government. With theGeneral Assembly once again facingdifficult budget decisions, it is rea-sonable for the taxpayers of this stateto know how the IHSA is spendingthe funds it is bringing in. I applaudthe Illinois Press Association for

Tony Scott, publisher of theGalesburg Register-Mail and aregional executive for GateHouse

Media, hasbeen appointedto the IPA boardof directors toreplace NickMonico. Thea p p o i n t m e n twas made byIPA BoardPresident KarenFlax of theC h i c a g oTribune.

As the Senior Group Publisher-Illinois Community Division forGateHouse, Scott has oversightresponsibility for 15 daily newspa-pers, 31 weekly newspapers and 14shopper publications throughoutthe state. Two of those newspapers,the Galesburg Register-Mail andPekin Daily Times, placed first andthird respectively in the IPA sweep-stakes awards in 2013.

He began his newspaper careerin 1997 as an advertising sales rep-resentative for the Monmouth DailyReview Atlas. His first publishingopportunity was at the Aledo TimesRecord and Town Crier in 2004before becoming publisher inMonmouth and then Galesburg.

Scott appointed to IPABoard of Directors

Associations support House Resolution 895

Scott

See ‘Sharp’ on page 9

See ‘Resolution’ on page 7

JoshSharp

Director ofGovernmentRelations

By Aaron LeeRoosevelt University

It was an honor and pleasure toparticipate in the 2014 NationalNewspaper Association News Fellowprogram. Being the only studentselected from the state of Illinois wasa privilege and something I will cher-ish for a lifetime. Each Fellow was

chosen to cover, report and writeabout government surveillance. As aNNAF, this was my first opportunityto visit Washington, DC. It was alsomy first time flying on a plane andthat was an experience in itself.

Once I landed safely, the excite-ment of being in the nation’s capitalhit me. On the very first day I wasready to take DC head on. I met theother Fellows and we headed straightto the National Security Agencymuseum, where I got to meet and askmembers of the NSA questions. Wealso had a personal tour of the muse-um and learned about the history ofthe NSA. From there, the otherFellows and I were taken on a quicktour of the District of Columbia. It

was amazing to see all of the histori-cal attractions I had only read about.

Day two was the most gratifyingday of my life. That morning theFellows and I had the opportunity toreport on Capitol Hill. Each one of usmet (or tried to meet) with our con-gressmen and senators from ourrespective states. Running frombuilding to building trying to makeeach meeting made me feel like a“real” reporter. That afternoon, a tourof the Newseum was organized forus, and after that we went back to fin-ish our interviews and meetings onCapitol Hill. However, the reportingwasn’t over just yet – our last stop forthe day was going to the NationalSecurity Archive to speak withDirector Tom Blanton.

That evening was probably the bestpart of the program. The Fellows andI attended the NNA banquet at theprestigious National Press Club. Atthe dinner, I met Dennis DeRossett,executive director of the Illinois PressAssociation, and John Galer, publish-er of the Journal-News in Hillsboro.These two gentlemen made me feelwelcomed and a part of the newspa-per family. I can’t thank them enoughfor their kind words and encourage-ment.

In addition to meeting Dennis andJohn, I also got a chance to meet thelegendary journalist Bob Schieffer,who was the evening’s keynote

speaker. Hearing him speak reas-sured me that I had chosen the rightcareer path. (If it weren’t for Mr.DeRossett urging me on, I probablywould not have gotten the chance totake a picture with Mr. Schieffer!)

The last day included a visit to thefamed polling company, Gallup,where we met Chairman and CEOJim Clifton and his son Jon Clifton,who is the Managing Director. Theyspoke about how they take polls forprivate contractors all over theworld, including our government.This information was vital for ourfinal story.

After that, the Fellows and I attend-ed a concluding luncheon with theNNA family. We accepted our awardsfor being selected and were allowedto speak about our experience inWashington.

Overall, it was a blessing to beselected and I would like to thankthose from NNA, including CarolPierce, Mark Magyar and ElizabethParker. Also I would like to thank mymentor throughout the programWalter Kaechele. I would also like tothank Dennis DeRossett and JohnGaler and last but not least, a specialthank you to the Illinois PressFoundation, especially Barry Locher.Without Mr. Locher, my trip toWashington would not have beenpossible. Thank you for investing inmy future career as a journalist!


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Aaron Lee, 2014 NNA Fellow, and John Galer at the National Press Club.

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Reprinted from Publisher’s Auxiliary

By Max Heath, NNA Postal Chair

There’s been an uptick in recentyears of newspapers found in viola-tion of the 75 percent advertisingrule, which prohibits Periodicalsfrom running more than 75 percenta d v e r t i s i n gpercentage inmore than halfthe issues in a12-month peri-od.

The exactwording of therule is in DMM7 0 7 . 6 . 1 . 3 :“General publi-cations prima-rily designed foradvertising purposes do not qualifyfor Periodicals mailing privileges,including publications that: a.Contain more than 75 percent adver-tising in more than half of the issuespublished during any 12-monthperiod.”

National Newspaper Associationmembers and others who join to getour assistance have been jarred byletters from the Pricing andClassification Service Center in NYCthreatening loss of Periodicals mail-ing privileges for this violation.

“The loss of Periodicals privilegeswould mean immediate rate increas-es for newspapers that would thenhave to be mailed at Standard rates.It could also mean a day or more ofdelay in service, as Standard mail issupposed to be a deferrable servicewhen mail volume is high. For manynewspapers, it also could lead to theloss of public notice advertising,because many state statutes require a

Periodicals permit for official news-paper eligibility. So the consequencesof losing a permit can be severe, evenlife- threatening,” said NNA ChiefExecutive Officer Tonda Rush.

I asked Chuck Tricamo, veteranPeriodicals specialist now managingthe PCSC, if the wording and tone ofthe letter had been made moresevere recently. It has not, he said, butit is the same as ever. Will I lose myPeriodicals Permit?

Not if you take immediate andsustained action to get the advertis-ing percentage at 75 percent orbelow in at least half the issues.Remember, you can be at 75 percent;you just can’t be more than 75 per-cent.

Despite the strong language of thethreat letter, PCSC staffers over theyears have repeatedly assured methat they don’t want to take aPeriodicals permit away from any-one if they can avoid it. They are justcharged with enforcing the rules thatcome to their attention.

But first you must immediatelywrite a letter or e-mail (if you candiscern who to send it to from theletter) to the PCSC within 15 days ofreceipt, as specified in the permit“revocation” letter, stating that youwish to appeal the decision and planto take steps to get your issues intocompliance. They will then send youan agreement to that effect, whichyou should sign, date, and returnASAP.

The key is to keep the paid adver-tising percentage, insofar as possible,below 75 percent for enough straightweeks to get the 12-month movingaverage below half of the total issuesduring the time period. Then maybeadd a few more issues for good meas-ure.

Once you’ve come back into com-

pliance on that 12-months worth ofissues, rule, then you can resumesmart management of the 75 percentrule. Simply, there will be someissues so heavy on preprinted adver-tising inserts (whose linage is count-ed as 100 percent advertising), say inNovember and December that haveno chance of staying under 75 per-cent. That means that in lightermonths, like a February or a July,rather than cutting back pages on alow-revenue issue, it might be betterto fill those pages with editorial toget the numbers up.

Then there are plenty of issues thatjust barely exceed 75 percent. Thoseprovide a low-cost chance to addnon-paid or editorial matter withoutexpanding your paper by more thantwo pages. Those are the ideal targetissues for you to keep in compliance.

Why are more papers beingcaught?

There are, of course, multiple rea-sons, including one competitorreporting another. I’ll give two more.

The trend toward preprintedadvertising supplements, or inserts,often accompanied by declining ROPin many advertising categories.Advertisers shift from ROP to

preprints to better control color,print quality, cost, etc. Newspapersmust track their own compliance toavoid getting caught in violation.Despite NNA efforts, we have beenunable to get this rule modified forpaid publications like we did forRequester Periodicals (from 100 per-cent to 75 percent of issues). Andbecause USPS does not average edi-tions of an issue, a weight break-down of one part of a mailing thatexceeds 75 percent counts for thatissue.

Also, it may not be in the best inter-est of Periodicals, a class that strug-gles to maintain its identity withinUSPS, to relax the editorial standardstoo much. Looking more likeStandard mail is a road that couldlead to being charged and served likeStandard mail.

The PostalOne! business account-ing system has built in checks of var-ious functions, and the 75 percentrule is one of those. Reports of anincrease in newspapers being caughtvia PostalOne! at the original entryoffice are increasing based on mem-ber calls and e-mails. It’s not auto-matic, but postal employees can runan advertising report to see howmany issues are more than 75 per-cent for any 12-month period look-ing backwards. And they are likelyaudited on their diligence in runningthat report.

How can I find more editorialmaterial to add?

There are many ways to increaseeditorial copy, and most of you knowas much about this topic as I do. Butbecause I’ve often been asked, I’llgive this my best shot.

As a country editor at heart, and agroup executive editor for 21 years, I

Heath

75% advertising rule is snagging publishersas ROP declines, advertising inserts increase

It may not be in thebest interest ofPeriodicals, a classthat struggles tomaintain its identi-ty within USPS, torelax editorial stan-dards too much.

See ‘Heath’ on page 7


have a bias for increased local news.Many times, there are communityevents where photos exist for a page ortwo of photos, but space limits cover-age to perhaps two or three shots. Beingmore than 75 percent may presentopportunities to open up the paper a bitmore.

Secondly, if you are looking to addeditorial matter on an ongoing basis,there may be local columnists you canrecruit on subjects like gardening,health, new businesses, recipes or anynumber of topics that might make yourpaper more valuable to readers on anongoing basis while opening up yournews hole a bit.

Syndicated matter is also anotheroption. I found that crossword puzzles,horoscopes, and word puzzles are par-ticularly appealing to a large segment ofreaders. I still believe in TV listingsbecause loyal readers that skew olderstill prefer hardcopy and not electroniclistings, same reason they prefer yourprint newspaper in the first place. TheMarch Pub Aux reported on the value ofsyndicated material and many goodvendors.

As postal consultant for AthlonMedia, I know that the company offers awide variety of free content to thosepapers that run American Profile, Relishor Spry. It even offers a generic TV list-ing that can be localized by your staffeach week. And I need to add that themagazines are measured on an advertis-ing/editorial basis each issue, so theyare not reported as 100 percent advertis-ing like advertising supplements, whichyou are paid for.

© Max Heath 2014 Max Heath, NNApostal chair, is a postal consultant forAthlon Media, publisher of Athlon Sportsmagazine, American Profile, Relish, andSpry newspaper supplements, andLandmark Community Newspapers LLC.Email [email protected].

Heathcontinued from page 3

bringing this to my attention.”Dennis DeRossett, executive

director of the Illinois PressAssociation, said “We thankRepresentative Chapa LaVia forintroducing this resolution. Itshould be public knowledge howmuch revenue is being generated bythese events and other exclusivearrangements, along with what per-centage or amount of that revenue isbeing remitted back to local schooldistricts.” He added, “The IHSAlacks full transparency and account-ability to the taxpayers of Illinoisand we are pleased to see this as one

of the area’s Rep. Chapa LaVia willaddress in the hearings.”

In 2008, the IPA instituted litiga-tion when the IHSA limited therights of press photographers tostate championship football games.In addition to instituting litigation,the IPA also filed legislation whichimpacted the IHSA. After much dis-cussion, the parties entered a settle-ment agreement, by the terms ofwhich the IHSA agreed not to limitpress access. In recent years, how-ever, the IHSA has limited the abili-ty to live-stream the games, and ispart of a movement to join a nation-al high school sports authority.

Dennis Lyle, President and CEOof the Illinois BroadcastersAssociation also praised Rep. Chapa

LaVia for introducing HR895 andsaid, “There exists today just toomuch confusion with both the pub-lic and those businesses associatedwith high school sports with respectto the IHSA’s role and limitationswhen it comes to high school athlet-ics. The taxpayers of Illinois are therightful owners of public highschool athletics, just as they are ofthe gymnasiums and athletic fieldswhere high school sports are played.Representative Chapa LaVia’s reso-lution simply sets the stage for seek-ing clarity to the blurred lines thatclearly exist today in regards to theIHSA and high school athletics.”

The hearings will take place laterthis spring or in the summer but nodates have yet been set.

IPA Immediate Past-President John Galer (L) and Executive Director Dennis DeRossett (R)pose with CBS News Anchor Bob Schieffer following the “We Believe in Newspapers” dinner in Washington, D.C., in March. Schieffer was the guest speaker. Galer and DeRossettwere part of an Illinois delegation who attended the National Newspaper Association’sannual event, which included a day on Capitol Hill visiting Senator Durbin and members ofthe Illinois congressional delegation.

Resolutioncontinued from page 3

National Newspaper Association Annual Dinner


By Frank MainTinley Park Southtown-Star

The Chicago Police De partment can nolonger keep misconduct records secret, astate appeals court has ruled. The IllinoisFreedom of Information Act doesn't exempt“CR files,” which consist of misconduct com -plaints against officers and documents creat-ed during the investigations, the courtfound.

The appeals court also found that “RL”files are open to the public. Those files iden-tify police officers who have accumulatedthe most misconduct com plaints. At issuewere two RL files that named officers withthe most complaints be tween 2001- 2006 and2002 -2008.

Shannon Breymaier, a spokeswoman forthe city’s law department, said the city plansto ask the Illinois Supreme Court to reviewthe decision. Jamie Kalven, an independentjournalist and commu nity activist, had fileda Free dom of Information request asking theChicago Police Department to provide himwith the Repeater Lists (RL) files as well asComplaint Register (CR) files involving fiveofficers, Futterman said.

In 2009, the U.S. 7th Cir cuit Court ofAppeals ruled against Kalven because theinformation he was seeking was part of afederal miscon duct lawsuit. Third partieslike Kalven don’t have legal standing tobecome involved in a lawsuit once the plain-tiff and defendant settle the case and agree toseal the police misconduct files, the federalappeals court ruled. But the state appealscourt said those files are a matter of publicrecord un der the state Freedom of In forma-tion Act. The state appeals court returnedKalven’s request to a lower court to decidewhat information the police department canblack out from the CR and RL files because ofprivacy concerns. Futterman said he doesn'thave a problem with the de partment redact-ing person al information about officers andthird parties such as telephone numbers,Social Security numbers and the like.

Chicago Policemisconduct filesmust be public

ChampaignNews-Gazette

Illinois’ disgraceful and danger-ous eavesdropping statute has gonethe way of the dodo bird. Good rid-dance to bad rubbish. That is themost generous interpretation thatcan be given to the demise of a stateeavesdropping statute that wasused to harass honest citizens whoran afoul of aggrieved publicemployees. The Illinois SupremeCourt in a unanimous opinion writ-ten by Chief Justice Rita Garmanstruck down Illinois’ eavesdroppinglaw because it was so overly broadthat it violated First Amendmentguarantees of free speech.

Drafted to prohibit one party in atelephone conversation fromrecording the conversation withoutthe consent of the other party, thelaw mostly was used by prosecutorsto criminalize a variety of publicactivities, including citizens whorecorded interactions with police ontheir smartphones. It’s important tounderstand that the high court didnot say that people should be free torecord private telephone conversa-tions without the knowledge andconsent of the other party. It simplysaid that the statute that bannedthat behavior is overly broad andmust be more narrowly tailored toaddress legitimate privacy interests.Now members of the Illinois Houseand Senate, many of whom are asignorant as their forebears on FirstAmendment issues, must come upwith a replacement statute. Somepeople, motivated by misplaced pri-

vacy concerns, may at first blushrecoil from the high court’s deci-sion. But there is no legitimate rea-son for concern. The old law wasaimed at protecting private conver-sations. But how did that translatein the real world? Because it was sosloppily drafted, the eavesdroppingstatute made it illegal for cameras torecord all manners of routine, ifsomewhat boisterous or con-

tentious, conduct that is a part ofdaily life. Justice Garman wrote thatthe eavesdropping law “criminal-izes a wide range of innocent con-duct.”

“The statute criminalizes therecording of conversations that can-not be deemed private: a loud argu-ment on the street, a political debateon a college quad, yelling fans at anathletic event or any conversationloud enough that the speakersshould expect to be heard by others.None of these examples implicatesprivacy interests, yet the statutemakes it a felony to audio recordeach one,” Garman wrote.

It’s no secret that controversy sur-rounding the eavesdropping statutehas become more pronounced withthe advent of smartphones andsmaller cameras now widely avail-able. It is the use of this type ofequipment combined with an over-ly broad statute that brought public

officials sensitive to being recordedinto conflict with citizens intent ondocumenting events. The statutebecame a tool by which public offi-cials sought to intimidate or punishthose who recorded public behav-ior. It’s a clear example of how so-called public servants can morphinto public oppressors.

In one of the cases the high courtresolved, a citizen who recordedconversations with a publicemployee over disputed courtroomtranscripts was charged with afelony offense. Cook County State'sAttorney Anita Alvarez, whoseoffice prosecuted the case, was ather most vindictive in seeking touse the eavesdropping statute as aclub. After charging AnnabelMelongo, prosecutors sought andreceived a six-figure bond clearlyexcessive given the facts of the casethat Melongo could not meet. Shespent two years in the Cook CountyJail waiting for the case to come totrial. The judge in Melongo’s caseultimately found the eavesdroppinglaw unconstitutional, the same find-ing a federal appeals court made in2012.

Nonetheless, Alvarez, who is nostranger to the abuse of power,appealed the state judge’s ruling,losing again before the IllinoisSupreme Court. Alvarez’s conductwas no accident. Her conduct isidentical to those of prosecutorsacross the country who continue topursue and ultimately lose prosecu-tions related to the recording ofpublic events by private citizens.Now at least Illinois has seen thelast of this kind of abuse of authori-ty by police and prosecutors whoshould have known better. It’sabout time.


Editorial Commentary

Good riddance to eavesdropping lawIllinois high court overturns overly broad state statute

two years.Finally, we are working to

address the definition of what itmeans to “prevail” in litigationrelating to FOIA. As many ofyou are aware, a lawsuit initiat-ed by the IPA against Rockfordpublic schools resulted in a rul-ing that held we were entitledto attorney’s fees in FOIA law-suits only if we were successfulin receiving a judicial order.

Unfortunately, in Rockford, ajudicial order became impossi-ble as the Rockford publicschool system, after intentionaldelays that took many weeks,turned over the document inquestion mere days before thecase was set to go in front of ajudge – thus, we weren’t enti-tled to reimbursement for anyfees or costs the court reasoned.

We may have a chance toinclude our proposed changesto FOIA and alter the definitionof “prevail” as part of a largerFOIA bill currently being con-sidered in the Senate. The IPAexpects to see a draft of that leg-islation in early May.

The IPA is positioned wellbut there is still much work tobe done in the final month ofthis legislative session.

May remains a hugely impor-tant month; the GeneralAssembly will be in sessionalmost every day includingweekends.

It’s over these final weeksthat we should get a muchclearer picture on industrybusiness issues and FOIA,while hopefully moving HB4733 to the governor’s desk.

Sharpcontinued from page 3

The statute became atool by which publicoff icials sought tointimidate or punishthose who recordedpublic behavior.


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Paul Camp - 5 Pitfalls of NativeAdvertising and How to Avoid Them

Paul Camp is Chief Evangelistic Officer of his company,

Content That Works. Native Advertising is the huge new

trend in the industry. Learn the pitfalls of native ads and how

to avoid them, plus see case histories showing what’s being

done and what’s working.

2:15 Thursday, June 12

Peter W. Wagner is often referred to as the newspaper

industry’s idea man. A regular presenter at newspaper

conventions and conferences, Wagner is best known for

his fast-paced presentation of fresh, easy-to-do adver-

tising and circulation revenue ideas and his straight-to-

the-point sales training seminars.

8:30 a.m. Thursday, June 12

Mark Horvit is the executive director of Investigative

Reporters & Editors. Horvit also is an associate pro-

fessor at the Missouri School of Journalism, where

he teaches investigative reporting.

2:15 p.m. Thursday, June 12

Val Hoeppner is a digital journalist, teacher, trainer and

media strategist. Hoeppner spent 20 years in newsrooms

as a photojournalist, newsroom leader and multimedia

director. As CEO of Val Hoeppner Media and Consulting,

LLC, Hoeppner travels to newsrooms, universities and

media conferences to train journalists in mobile, social,

video and multi-platform storytelling.

3:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12: Short and Smart: Mobile

Video Storytelling

8:45 a.m. Friday, June 13: Apps for Journalists Who Work

and Publish in the Field

Val Hoeppner — Digital Tools

Mark Horvit — Watchdog Reporting

Penny Abernathy — Saving Community Journalism: A Path toProfitability

Newspapers are in an era of disruption. Communities

still need the journalism and advertising so essential to

nurturing local identity and connection among citizens.

As newspaper publishing collides with the digital revolu-

tion, and as technology redefines consumer habits and

the very notion of community, how can newspapers sur-

vive and thrive? In her new book, Saving Community

Journalism, veteran media executive Penelope Muse

Abernathy draws on cutting-edge research and analysis

to reveal practical guidance for editors and publishers

on how newspapers can build community online and iden-

tify new opportunities of revenue.

10:30 a.m. Friday, June 13

Introduction by Clark Bell,

journalism program director,

Robert R. McCormick

Foundation, Chicago

Convention 2014!


Bring your appetite and bring your wallet for the

annual Illinois Press Foundation Dessert

Auction. Pool your resources with others at

your table to outbid other tables. Proceeds

benefit journalism scholarships.

Hotel information

Annual dessert auction

Other important convention event times and dates

Advertising Roundtables - 3:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12

IPF Board Meeting11 a.m. Wednesday, June 11

Registration Desk Open3 p.m. Wednesday, June 11

Opens 8 a.m. Thursday & Friday

Opening Reception6 p.m. Wednesday, June 11

Advertising Awards11:45 a.m. Thursday, June 12

IAPME Awards LuncheonNoon Thursday, June 12

IPA Board meeting2:15 p.m. Thursday, June 12

IAPME Annual Meeting4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12

President’s Reception5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12

Crowne Plaza Hotel

3000 South Dirksen Parkway

Springfield, Illinois 62703

(217) 529-7777

$128/room +12% tax

Ask for the IPA/IPF Room Block

Holiday Inn Express

3050 South Dirksen Parkway

Springfield, Illinois 62704

(217) 529-7771

$93/room + 12%tax

Ask for the IPA/IPF Room Block

Two hotels side-by-side for your convenience. Both hotels are located off Interstate 55, exit 94

(Stevenson Drive). Additional information online at convention.illinoispress.org/Check-in time is after 4:00 p.m. and check-out time

is 11:00 a.m. Guests arriving before 4:00 p.m. will

be accommodated as rooms become available.

Rooms occupied beyond 11:00 a.m. are subject to

one-half the daily rate, until 6:00 p.m., after which

the full rate applies.

Join five industry veterans – Val Yazbec of the Moline Dispatch Publishing Co.; Tom Zalabak of the

Champaign News-Gazette; Dawn Ferencak of The Austin Weekly News, Jennifer Baratta of Sauk Valley Media

and Tim Evans of the News-Gazette Community Newspaper Group – as they lead you through a fast-paced

and idea-filled session on great advertising initiatives you can use as soon as you get home!

IPF Poker Tournament

Join us this year for the Illinois Press Foundation Poker

Tournament, 7:00 p.m. Thursday, June 12. This is a

professionally-run tournament as seen on t.v.! Chips

provided have no redeemable value but the winner will

walk away with a nice trophy and bragging rights!

IPF Poker Tournament7 p.m. Thursday, June 12

(all proceeds benefit the Illinois Press

Foundation journalism scholarships)

IPA Annual Business Mtg.7:30 a.m. Friday, June 13

IPA Editorial AwardsNoon Friday, June 13

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Page 12 May 2014 / Illinois PressLines Page 13


Newspapers and baseball

By Caroline LittlePresident and CEO, NewspaperAssociation of America & AmericanPress Institute

There are few aspects of Americanlife that are the same today as theywere 100 years ago. Two of them arenewspapers and baseball.

While spring officially starts inMarch, it doesn’t truly begin formany until Opening Day rollsaround and ceremonial first pitchesare thrown. Whether it’s at Wrigley

Field, Fenway Parkor your local minorleague stadium, it’sbeen that way forover a century and Iimagine it will con-tinue for at leastanother century.

For the durationof baseball’s history,

fans have turned totheir local newspaper to keep tabs ontheir favorite teams and players. Thishas remained unchanged and contin-ues today, as newspapers deliver spe-cial sections to preview the upcomingseason, post daily box scores and del-uge fans with coverage on a dailybasis.

But baseball and newspapers havemore in common than merely being apart of everyday American life. Forboth institutions, the reports of theirdemise have been greatly exaggerat-ed.

Baseball has been besieged with thenotion that the sport is fading, over-taken by football and ignored bytoday’s youth. Quite the opposite istrue – commissioner Bud Selig pre-dicted his league would for 2014.

If that sounds familiar, it’s becausethe newspaper industry has dealtwith a similar perception problem,with the idea that the younger gener-ation would completely eschewnewspapers. This, of course, is nottrue. Of young adults ages 18 to 34,

more than half – 56 percent – duringa typical week.

Newspapers and baseball do notlook like they did in 1914 and that’swhy they remain essential in 2014. In1914, it took only 19 home runs tolead the league – needless to say, thatwouldn’t lead the league this year.Though the sport has the same rules,it has evolved and transformed.

In 1914, you would read a newspa-per in print and that was it. Today,you can read the newspaper in multi-ple platforms, choosing what worksbest for you. There are 161 millionAmericans that read newspaper con-tent in print or online in any given

Little

Two great Americaninstitutions evolving

See ‘Little’ on page 15


month. As the newspaper industryguides the way forward, it is basedupon a perfect blend of print, digitaland mobile platforms to better serveour readers and our advertisers.

It is worth noting that social mediawasn’t an issue in 1914, or even 2004.But in the past decade, its influencehas skyrocketed and changed howour world operates. Baseball has usedthis to engage fans, giving them aforum to connect directly with theirfavorite players. For newspapers, itmeans access for readers to followtheir favorite newspaper or reporter.And there is confluence of the two,when a fan can follow his or herfavorite baseball team by followingthe team’s newspaper beat writer.

Despite facing the perception that

baseball is a sport for the older gener-ation, a new generation of talent hasinfused MLB with excitement,whether that’s Mike Trout inAnaheim or Bryce Harper inWashington, D.C. The newspaperindustry, likewise, has an excited,engaged group of college studentsand young reporters ready to maketheir mark. I saw this firsthand atNAA mediaXchange 2014.

The youth movement for baseball isnot limited to the diamond, just as it’snot limited to the newsroom fornewspapers. Theo Epstein, at 28, wasthe youngest general manger in histo-ry when the Boston Red Sox hiredhim in 2002 and, two years later, theteam had its first World Series in 86years. Likewise, newspapers havebecome an incubator for innovationand change. At NAA mediaXchange,our inaugural Accelerator Pitch pro-

gram with revolutionary ideas, fromnew mobile apps to improved socialmedia use to re-defining how to sellclassified ads. It opened my eyes tothe limitless possibilities that exist forour industry as we move forward andexpand our offerings across all plat-forms.

Spring is a time for limitless possi-bilities, especially after this past bru-tal winter that battered much of thecountry with ice, snow and endlessgray days. The clouds are parting, thetemperature is rising and the sun isshining.

By the time October rolls around,we will be crowning a new WorldSeries champion.

We will also be looking at a news-paper industry that has continued itsevolution and growth, with new ini-tiatives and ideas that will ensure itsrelevance for another 100 years.

Littlecontinued from page 14

Sheriff: Most ofthe people in myworld hate themediaChicago Sun-Times

Cook CountySheriff Tom Dartapparently takesa dim view oflocal journalists,whom he recent-ly described aspurveyors of"trash," who fix-ate on including

competing viewpoints in their workwhen "there is no other side" to betold. Dart, who regularly holds newsconferences and generally enjoysfavorable coverage, made the criticalremarks to a group of student journal-ists at the Illinois Center forBroadcasting in the Loop in March."Most of the people in my world hatethe media," Dart said in a video. "Iactually not only don't hate them, Ifeel sorry for them." At issue appearsto be public appetite that craves sen-sationalism over substantive report-ing, Dart told the students, during the12-minute soliloquy that mixed per-sonal gripes with media criticism. Theschool later posted the video toYouTube. "I know most of them reallywant to do something that really mat-ters. Instead they are forced right nowto churn out a lot of garbage," Dartsaid. "They're told right now, 'Well,the public wants to hear trash, so yougo out and follow trash.'" When askedto explain the sheriff's remarks,spokeswoman Cara Smith said Dart isa "passionate guy" who only wantedto encourage budding journalists tofocus on issues that matter…”

SheriffTom Dart

Three Illinois newspapers werehonored by Editor & Publisher aspart of its annual “Ten newspapersthat do it right” feature. Both TheTimes of Ottawa and the Journal Starof Peoria were selected for two of thetop ten spots, while The Daily Heraldof Arlington Heights was recognizedwith an honorable mention.

The Times, OttawaThe Times was chosen for the cre-

ation of “Starved Rock Country,”described as a “marketing nirvana”by Times publisher John Newby.Starved Rock Country is an extensionof the paper’s brand, created to pro-mote the community on a regionallevel and add tourism dollars to thearea. Named after a popular statepark in northern Illinois, StarvedRock Country is “all about collabora-tion and working with everyone inthe region to create jobs and promotenew tourism opportunities,” Newbysaid.

The centerpiece of Starved RockCountry is a profitable magazinelaunched in 2012 and supported bylocal chambers, cities and towns,tourism boards and other regionalgovernment agencies as well asadvertisers not typically seen in acommunity newspaper. The maga-

zine is put together by current staffmembers. A brand manager washired to do marketing and sell ads inthe magazine. It is published quarter-ly and has a distribution of 25,000.

“In only one year, Starved RockCountry has blown past our digitaloperation in terms of revenue andwill contribute at least double to thebottom-line, rivaling circulation’scontribution to the bottom-line,”Newby said.

The Journal Star, PeoriaLast May, the Journal Star launched

a new series of monthly special sec-tions called Extra. The section gener-ated $75,000 per month in new circu-lation and advertising revenue, pro-ducing some of their best non-dailycontent written by staff members.Extra is inserted in the last Sunday

paper of each month. Currently, topics have included

Historic Flood, coverage of the recentflooding in April that also shared dra-matic personal stories and providedinformation for victims; IllinoisTravel, a section focused on populartourist locations throughout the state;

100-Year-Old Business, a profile of 17of the 50-plus businesses in the regionthat are 100 years old or older;Caterpillar, a section focused on theconstruction and mining equipmentcompany headquartered in Peoria;and Jim Thome, a celebration of thePeoria native and baseball player’sHall of Fame career.

Subscribers are charged a month-ly $2 fee for Extra, which range from24 to 48 pages per issue.Communication regarding the premi-um edition was channeled throughdirect mail, notification of subscriberrenewal statements as well as the cre-ation of a specific URL to outline thecontent of the Extra editions as wellas a calendar of topics. ExecutiveEditor Dennis Anderson said at firstthere was some pushback from read-


Illinois newspapers honored by Editor & PublisherAROUND THE STATE —

See ‘State’ on page 17


ers on the additional fee, but it onlymade them work harder to create topquality content for each section.

“Once readers saw the sections,there hasn’t been any pushback,” hesaid. “Feedback has been very goodand positive.”

The Daily Herald, ArlingtonHeights

The Daily Herald was recognizedfor its engage ment journalism, whichhas created popular events such asthe Cook of the Week Chal lenge, GetYour Summer On and numerous oth-ers. One event, Suburban Chicago'sGot Talent, played to three sold -outshows, Editor & Publisher noted,while the popu lar Fittest Loser chal-lenge has seen 21 contestants lose atotal of 1,120 pounds so far. The DailyHerald was named to the inaugurallist in 2000.

Business Ledger debutsimproved website

The Daily Herald BusinessLedger recently unveiled aredesigned and updated website atdhbusinessledger. com. The new web-site is designed to provide onlinereaders with timely local news, aswell as provide the features andresources that business owners needto stay on tip of the suburban busi-ness scene. "We've redone the site toprovide our readers with a more time-ly and interactive resource of subur-ban busi ness news," said Richard R.Klicki, director of content develop-ment. "Our goal is to enhance theBusiness Ledger experience by pro-viding the informa tion and toolsneeded to be on top of the suburbanbusiness scene.”

Cameras, blogging in courtapproved

Courtrooms in Peoria County areabout to become a lot more familiar to

the average person as the state'sSupreme Court has approved a planto allow cameras and live bloggingwithin those confines. Chief JusticeRita Garman announced the approvalof the 10th Judicial Circuit's applica-tion into the program, filed earlierthis year by Chief Circuit Judge SteveKouri. The 10th Cir cuit is composedof Peoria, Tazewell, Marshall, Starkand Putnam counties. The other fourcounties within the 10th Circuit willjoin the program 60 days after PeoriaCounty. The program started inJanuary 2012 under then Chief JusticeThomas Kilbride. Since then, thecourt has allowed circuits in onlyafter a review of their rules and theirprocedures. The focus always hasbeen to preserve the integrity of thecourtroom as well as protect a per-son's right to a fair trial. There are 40counties in Illinois that allow camerasin courtrooms.

Shaw Media and Daily Heraldlaunch Chicago Football

Shaw Media and Daily HeraldMedia Group have announced thelaunch of Chicago Football, a printand digital sports media franchisecovering high school, college and pro-fessional football. Veteran footballanalyst and Chicago-area sports per-sonality Hub Arkush will spearheadthe initiative. The first edition ofChicago Football magazine hit news-stands in early April. In print,Chicago Football will be a glossymagazine published weekly duringthe football season, and monthly inthe offseason.

The new site provides in-depthnews and analysis of the Bears, alongwith extensive information about theNFC North division and coverage ofall 32 NFL teams.

In addition to Arkush, ChicagoFootball contributors include ShawMedia’s Kevin Fishbain and TomMusick, and the Daily Herald's pre-mier Bears expert Bob LeGere andfantasy football analyst John Dietz.Veteran designer and editor Bob

Peters – who previously worked withArkush at Pro Football Weekly – hasalso joined the Chicago Football team.

Cost outlook improves for LeeAt its annual stock holder meeting

earlier this year, executives with LeeEnterprises Inc. offered an improvedcost outlook as they outlined new dig-i tal news, sales and audience strate-gies, including the launch later thisyear of full-access subscriptions inmore than half of its 50 newspapermarkets.

Lee hosted nearly 100 share holdersat its downtown Davenport head-quar ters, including com pany officials,employees and retirees, for the annu-al meeting. “As we recently reported,Lee is off to a solid start in 2014,” LeeChairwoman and CEO Mary Juncktold those in attendance. “We grewdigital revenue and audi ences at adouble- digit pace, continued toreduce expenses, again posted strongcash flow, reduced our debt furtherand announced a commitment for afavorable refinancing of our secondlien debt. Those reasons reinforce ourupbeat outlook.”

Newpaper files lawsuitagainst city of Carlinville

The Macoupin County En quirerDemocrat newspaper filed a lawsuit

against the City of Carlinville for vio-lating the Illinois Open Meetings Act(OMA). The newspaper alleges theCarlin ville City Council held at leastone illegal closed session to discussmatters pertaining to the CarlinvillePlaza and the Tax Incentive Fund(TIF) dis trict. The closed meeting andthe discussions held during the meet-ing were reported in the March 6issue of the newspa per and was thesubject of an editorial in that sameissue titled "Secret meetings do notbenefit anyone when elected officialsare involved.” In that editorial, thenewspaper out lined the violationsand dem onstrated the reasons whythe meeting was in violation of theOMA. The newspaper, through theeditorial, requested the city releasethe recordings and minutes of themeeting. Following the publication ofthe story and accompany ing editorial,the newspaper contacted CarlinvilleMayor Deanna Demuzio and againre quested the executive session tapesand minutes from that closed meetingbe released. The mayor insisted thosetapes would not be released until thecity did its normal six month reviewof all closed ex ecutive sessions.

Tribune Co. puts voice tonewspaper stories

Tribune Digital Ven tures, a technol-ogy unit of Chicago- based TribuneCo., has introduced a new mobile appto provide audio streaming of news-paper stories, en abling listeners tocreate customized news radio sta-tions.

The Newsbeat app aggregates con-tent from hundreds of newspapersand websites, voicing about 7,000national and local stories each daythrough announcers and text tospeech technolo gy. The format, avail-able free for iOS and Android devices,includes local weather and traffic up -dates in real time.

Statecontinued from page 16

See ‘State’ on page 18

Julie Bechtel hasbeen named presi-dent and publisherof the Herald &Review and TheP a n t a g r a p h .Bechtel will direct-ly lead LeeEnterprises Inc.'sCentral IllinoisGroup, whichincludes Decatur, Bloomington andthe Journal Gazette & Times-Courierin Mattoon/Charleston. In additionto those duties, Bechtel will serve asgroup publisher overseeing newspa-per media operations in Nebraskaand Illinois. She will also join Lee'sexecutive team, helping guide thecompany's 50 daily print and digitaloperations in 22 states. Bechtel previ-ously served as president and pub-lisher of the Lincoln Journal Star inNebraska. "I am excited by theopportunity in Central Illinois andI'm eager to begin meeting col-leagues and customers as quickly as Ican," said Bechtel, who will be basedin Bloomington. "I'm also glad for theopportunity to stay connected withmy many friends in Nebraska."Bechtel began her career in 1987 atthe Des Moines Register.

Pfeifer named publisher ofThe Southern Illinoisian

John Pfeifer has been named pub-lisher of TheS o u t h e r nIllinoisan.

Pfeifer suc-ceeds BobWilliams, whotransferred toProvo, Utah, aspublisher of TheDaily Herald.Lee Enterprises

is the owner of both The SouthernIllinoisan and The Daily Herald.

Pfeifer previously served as a pub-lisher for Lee in Twin Falls, Idaho;Elko, Nev.; DeKalb and Rhinelander,Wis. He also previously was adver-tising director for Lee's River ValleyNewspaper Group, headquartered inLa Crosse, Wis. He returns to Lee ayear after leaving to become vicepresident of sales development andtraining for the CommunityPublication Division of GateHouseMedia Inc.

Pete Spitler hasbeen named editorof the RandolphCounty HeraldTribune in Chester.He comes to thepaper after eightyears coveringsports at TheSouthern Illinoisanin Carbondale. Spitler also spentfour years coaching freshman foot-ball at Chester.

It’s been a fast track to success forMark Dolan withinthe National PressP h o t o g r a p h e r sAssociation. TheSIU assistant photo-jour nalism profes-sor was electedpresident of theNational PressPhotographers Association earlierthis year. The NPPA is one of thelargest photographer organizationsin the world, with 6,500 members.“The newspaper industry is shrink-ing and, sadly, photog raphers arefeeling the brunt of that," Dolan said.“The biggest problem is news organ-izations that have more concernsabout the bottom line than the quali-ty of the content they're delivering toreaders and viewers.”

News-Gazette sports section,website, writer get nationalhonors

Staff writer Marcus Jackson won awriting award and The ChampaignN e w s - G a z e t t ewas honored insection judgingfor the fourth con-secutive year inthe annualAssociated PressSports Editors'contest. Also, forthe first time, thenewspaper's website, IlliniHQ.com,was tabbed as one of the nation'sbest. Competing in the 30,000-75,000circulation category, The News-Gazette's Sunday section wasnamed honorable mention (top 20).It marked the 22nd time in the last18 years the paper has been rec -ognized in APSE voting for daily,Sunday or special sections. Jacksonplaced in the top 10 in feature writ-ing for his story on former Illinoisbasketball player Tal Brody. The topfive finalists in the writing categorieswill be announced later this month.Win ners will receive their awards atthe June APSE convention inWashington, D.C.

Jackson, at The News-Gazettesince 2005, took over the college bas-ketball beat full time in 2012.

Sun-Times halts online commentary

In a letter to readers, ChicagoSun-Times Managing Editor CraigNewman explained that the Sun-Times and other titles in the Sun-Times Media Group would be tem-porarily suspending comments onits online stories.

“The world of Internet com-menting offers a marvelous opportu-nity for discussion and the exchange

of ideas. But as anyone who has everventured into a comment thread canattest, these forums too often turninto a morass of negativity, racism,hate speech and general trollishbehaviors that detract from the con-tent,” Newman wrote.

“In fact, the general tone anddemeanor is one of the chief criti-cisms we hear in regard to theusability and quality of our websitesand articles. Not only have we heardyour criticisms, but we often findourselves as frustrated as our read-ers are with the tone and quality ofcommentary on our pages. To thatend, we are working on develop-ment of a new commenting systemwe hope will not only allow for freediscussion, but encourage increasedquality of the commentary and helpus better police the worst elementsof these threads.”

New scholarship establishedJerry L. Reppert, publisher of

Reppert Pub lications, Anna, hasestablished a journalism scholarshipin memory of the late James West Jr.

Mr. West, whoserved as generalmanager withR e p p e r tPublications formore than 40years, died inFebruary. He wasrecognized for hisaccomplishmentsin communityjournalism by being honored as aMaster Editor by the SouthernIllinois Editorial Association (SIEA).The scholarship is intended for ahigh school senior who has verballycommitted to attending SouthernIllinois University Carbondale tostudy journalism.

West served as a past adviser toThe Daily Egyptian , the campusnewspaper at SIUC, and also was apast president of the SIEA. Thescholarship will be administered bythe Illi nois Press Foundation, whichWest helped create in 1981.


Statecontinued from page 17

Jackson

West

Pfeifer

Spitler

Dolan

PRESS PEOPLEBechtel to lead Central

Illinois Group

Bechtel

Valerie Yazbechas been promotedto chief revenueofficer and KellyJohannes to multi-media advertisingdirector for theMoline DispatchPublishing Co.Publisher GeraldTaylor wrote, “In her new role, Valwill oversee niche publication devel-

opment, print anddigital advertisingsales. She also ischarged with grow-ing revenuestreams by creatingnew and enhancingexisting events,community promo-tions and uniqueonline features.”

“Kelly will oversee the local mediaconsultant staff, the classified salesstaff and the outbound call centeroperation. Their appointments aredesigned to position us to capitalizeupon their considerable skills andexperience to counter the rapidlychanging digital media sales land-scape.”

Robert “Bob” Beskow has joinedthe staff at The Carmi Times as sportseditor. Beskow andhis wife, Becky,have been dedicat-ed to volunteerismand service to theirc o m m u n i t i e s ,which led Beskowinto his sportsinterests. "I ran alot of golf tourna -ments, coachedLittle League and even served on theother side as an umpire. I've alwayshad an interest in sports.”

Each year, the Red Bud Chamber ofCommerce presents its “Citizen of

A c h i e v e m e n t ”award. The winnerof the 2013 honorwas Victor Mohr,Sr., owner and pub-lisher of the NorthCounty News. Atthe age of 88, he con-tinues to work at thepaper and is proudthat it has served the area since 1959.“Mr. Mohr has always graciouslysupported every church, school,organization and fundraiser. Heunderstands the importance of allbusinesses being successful in a smalltown,” said Jana Kueker, office man-ager and assistant editor.

Rob West has joined TheNavigator & Journal-Register inAlbion. An experienced sports edi tor,West began work ing at the publica-tion in February. His primary focuswill be sports, though he will alsoprovide some news coverage as wellas feature writing in the Navigator'ssister publication, The Prairie Post

Dawn Ferencakhas been promoted toassociate publisher ofAustin WeeklyNews in Oak Park,where she’s workedas a sales representa-tive since 2010. “Thistitle recognizes thebroad and powerfulrole that Dawn plays in representingthe weekly across the West Side,” saidEditor and Publisher Dan Haley.

Nathan Woodside, 31, has joinedThe Alton Telegraph as assistant con-tent manager/weband social mediaeditor. He is a 2006graduate ofWestern IllinoisUniversity whoformerly was themanaging editor ofthe Macomb Eagle

and Lincoln Courier in addi tion towriting for the McDonough CountyVoice and Washington Missourian.

Jessica Dickinsonhas joined thereporting staff ofThe FultonDemocrat. A skilledwriter, this isDickinson's firstforay into journal-ism. “We've knownJessica for a longtime, and had a lot ofcon fidence in the quality of work shecould produce. She is insightful andcurious – wonderful traits that shebrings to the Fulton Democrat,” saidco- owner Wendy Martin.

Debi Hallam hasjoined the staff ofThe Navigator andPrairie Post as asales representa-tive. She will serv-ice ac counts in theAlbion, Mt. Carmel,Olney and Fairfieldareas. Hallam brings28 years of sales experience to thenewspaper, and for several yearsworked with Auto-trader.com.

Ryan Ledendecker is the new webeditor of the Waterloo Republic-Times. The paper’s website won thetop award in IPA’s Excellence in Newscontest in 2012. He was a columnistfor the newspaper for more than twoyears.


PRESS PEOPLE

Johannes

Mohr

Woodside

Dickinson

HallamYazbec

Beskow

Ferencak

Marion Marcellus BursonMarion Marcellus Burson, 98, of

Evanston, a 33-year veteran ofCapitol Hill, first as an AssociatedPress reporter and then as a seniorcongressional aide, died April 1.

A native of Litchfield, Mr. Bursonwas the son of Elbert E. and MaryMcElligott Burson, publishers of theLitchfield News Herald. He graduat-ed Litchfield Com munity HighSchool and attended the University ofIllinois and Loyola University ofChicago. He began his reportingcareer with the Decatur Herald &Review and then spent eight yearswith the Chicago bureau of the Asso -ciated Press.

In 1951, he took a position with theAssociated Press in Washington, pri-marily covering the Illinois, Indianaand Michigan congressional delega-

tions. After covering congressionalaffairs for six years for AP, Mr. Bursonserved as administrative assistant tothe late Rep. Peter F. Mack, Jr., aDemocrat from Carlinville, from 1957to 1962. A self- professed history buff,Mr. Burson assisted in the planning ofthe 1959 commemoration of thesesquicentennial of AbrahamLincoln's birth. After Mack's defeat ina reapportioned district, he served for10 years as Republican staff assistanton the House Interstate and ForeignCommerce Committee. In 1973, hebecame the top aide to the late Rep.George O'Brien of Joliet, serving inthat position until his retirement in1984.

Stacey CreasyStacey Creasy, editor of The Fulton

Democrat, died February 23. Creasy,

55, joined the Fulton Democrat inMarch 2009. He had previouslyserved as a reporter and editor ofnewspa pers inIllinois and Indiana,including theMacomb Journal,Indianapolis Starand South BendTribune. His resumealso included workin radio where hewas news director for the website.“Stacey was a newsman's newsman.He understood the importance ofcommunity journalism, and therewas nothing he loved better than get-ting the scoop on every body,” saidDemocrat Executive Editor WendyMartin.

For most of his tenure with theFulton Democrat, Creasy covered the

administration of Mayor KevinMeade. “Stacey was one of the finestjournalistic professionals that I haveworked with. I found his reportingfair and accurate. He was not afraidto ask the tough questions or hold meaccountable for my answers. At thesame time I couldalways count on himto write a fair story,”said Meade.

James C. DowdleJames C. Dowdle, a

born salesmanknown for his flashyties and sharp intuition about the tel-evision industry, died Feb. 17. He hadplayed a key role in the transforma-


Industry Deaths

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See Obits on page 21

tion of Tribune Co. into a majormedia conglomerate. In 1981, whenMr. Dowdle joined the company,Tribune was focused, as it had beenfor more than a century, on its news-paper holdings particularly its flag-ship Chicago Tribune. By the timeMr. Dowdle retired nearly 19 yearslater as the company's second-rank-ing executive, Tribune Co. owned 18television stations, reached morethan 75 percent of U.S. households,held a minority share in the WB net-work and was also aggressivelyinvolved in virtually every aspect ofthe information industry, includingcable television, the Internet and newmedia.

“Jim was truly a great leader whomade tremendous acquisitions,entered into content partnershipsand joint ventures, and brought ingreat talent," retired Tribune Co. CEOJohn Madigan said. “He led the wayin making us a major player in thebroadcasting business.”

George H. FiskGeorge H. Fisk, 83, died February

25. He was born July9, 1930, in Chicago,and spent most of hislife in Joliet. He grad-uated Joliet TownshipHigh School in 1948and married Sally, hischildhood sweet-heart, in 1951. Heserved in the U.S. Naval Reservesand worked at various jobs prior tohis employment at the Joliet HeraldNews, where he filled multiple rolesbefore being named editor and pub-lisher in 1982. He also served on theboard of directors of The CopleyPress, Inc., which was the parentcompany of the Herald News andFox Valley Press, of which he waspresident.

Donald GrahamDonald Graham,

72, of Champaigndied on March 2. Mr.Graham was bornJuly 28, 1941, inNewton, Il. He mar-ried Mary AnnBrahana on Feb. 21,1970, in Urbana. Shesurvives. Don worked for more than30 years at The News- Gazette in dis-play advertising. After retirement, heand his wife enjoyed spending muchof their time with their family andjust being outside walking and bik-ing around Champaign and at theirvacation home on Johns Island, S.C.

JoAnn HarjuJoAnn “Jo” Lydia Harju, 55, of

LaSal le died Feb. 7 in Peru. Jo wasborn in Han cock, Mich. She livedmost of her life in the Illinois Val leyarea and grew up in Spring Valley.She attended Triton Col lege inChicago, where she studied the arts.Jo worked as a photojournal ist for theBureau County Review in Princetonand later for Riverstone Group inUtica as an office manager for manyyears.

Geneva A. HornGene va A. Horn, 90, died March 16

in Hartville, Mo. Geneva worked as acircula tion department office manag-er at The News- Gazette in Cham -paign, where she retired in 1989.

David B. KramerDavid B. Kramer, 85, of Monticello,

formerly Gibson City, died Feb. 24 inBloomington. He was born Aug. 12,1928, in Keokuk, Iowa, son of Verle V.and Sybil M. Mershon Kramer. Hemarried Normalee Izard on Aug. 21,1949. She preceded him in death in2004. Kramer was a retired secondgeneration publisher of newspapersin Central Illinois located in GibsonCity, Monticello, Bement, LeRoy,Lexington, Chenoa, Colfax and

Saybrook. He grew up in the newspaper

industry in Warsaw, where his fatherpublished newspapers in Warsawand Dallas City. After graduatinghigh school in Warsaw in 1946, heattended the University of Illinois,graduating in 1950 with a bachelor'sdegree in politi cal science. He servedin the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1951.He joined his fatheras a partner at theGibson City Courieras advertising man-ager from 1952 to1955 and editor from1955 to 1983.Following his father'sdeath in 1968, hebecame publisherand editor. Kramer Publishing Co.published the Gibson City Courier,Piatt County Journal -Republican inMonticello and the shop per Targetplus six other smaller weekly news-papers.

In February 1982, KramerPublishing Co. was sold to RantoulPress Inc. and renamed East CentralIllinois Publications Inc. Under hisleadership, the Gibson City Couriertwice won the Loomis Trophy, thesweepstakes award which identifiesits holder as outstanding weeklynewspaper in the Illinois PressAssociation's annual newspaper con-test.

Kramer served as president of theIllinois Press Association in 1972-1973. Kramer’s son, Mike, is publish-er of the Law Bulletin Publishing Co.in Chicago and sits on the board ofthe Illinois Press Foundation.

Joyce D. MichelichJoyce Dorotha Michelich, 82, of

Auburn, died late last year. She wasco-owner of South CountyPublications in Auburn, along withher husband, Joe. Joyce was born inDetroit, Michigan, on November 20,1931. She married Joe Michelich, Jr.November 10, 1951, while he wasserving in the U.S. Navy. They were

married 62 years, and Joe survives,along with their three children andmany grandchildrenand great-grandchil-dren, step-grand-daughters andgrandsons, and step-great-grandchildren.

For most of herlife, Joyce was ahomemaker, espe-cially when raising her three chil-dren. Over the years, she and Joewere very active in the Illinois PressAssociation.

Chuck MorrisChuck Morris, a former reporter

and editor for the Rockford MorningStar and Rockford Register Star, diedon Feb. 18.

Charles EarlMorris was bornMarch 22, 1936. Hegrew up in Sharon,Wis., attendingSharon schools andgraduating SharonHigh School in 1953.He attended Marquette Universityfor one year before joining the U.S.Air Force in 1954. He served withseveral Air Force intelligence agen-cies as a Russian linguist, thenreturned to school at the Universityof Wisconsin. Morris joined theMorn ing Star as a summer replace-ment reporter in 1960, graduatedfrom Wis consin in 1961 with a degreein journalism and returned to theMorning Star as a reporter.

In January 1967, he was namedassistant city editor and was laterpromoted to city editor (1970), assis-tant news editor (1971), Sunday edi-tor (1972), news editor (1974), assis-tant managing editor (1976), manag-ing editor (1977), head of news andeditorial (1979) and executive editor(1980). He left the Register Star in1988 to become presi dent and pub-lisher of the Danville CommercialNews, where he ended his career.

Fisk

Graham Michelich

Kramer

Morris

See Obits on page 22

Obitscontinued from page 20



Susan NelsonSusan Nelson died Feb. 26 in

Chicago. She was 71. As a ChicagoTribune reporter, textbook editor andwriting teacher, Ms. Nelson had aspecial talent with words, friendsand col leagues say.“Words were thething in the end,”said longtime friendand journalist JimTuohy, co- author of“Greylord: Justice,Chicago Style.”Written, but also spo-ken. She liked to listen to NPR. Shehad the radio on all the time.” Ms.Nelson had worked a stint as areporter for the Indianapolis Timesbefore joining the Chicago Tribune inthe mid- 1960s.

At the time, most women wereautomatically relegated to featuresrather than hard news, recalled for-mer Tri bune colleague Pat Terry.Female Trib newcomers would beasked, “Would you like to be on soci-ety, fashion or cooking?” Terry said.In features, Ms. Nelson was an assis-tant fashion edi tor; entertainmentwriter; feature writer; and writer ofoffbeat columns. Then, she landed apromotion to the Sunday ChicagoTribune Magazine — a highly presti -gious and plum assignment in thosedays.

Ms. Nelson was one of the firstwomen to work on the magazine,serving as both a writer and editor.Ms. Nelson also was a fearless travel-er. In 1976, after leaving the Tribune,Ms. Nelson hap pened to be visitingGuatamala alone when an earth -quake hit, killing 23,000 and injuring76,000. She started taking notes andinterviewing people in Spanish.Then she called the Trib —offering tocover the earthquake as a freelancer,but they turned her down. ButChicago Sun- Times editor and pub-lisher James Hoge Jr. was interested.The Sun- Times ran four stories byMs. Nelson out of Guatamala.

Thomas M. Sengstacke PicouThomas M. Sengstacke Picou died

Feb. 8 in Inglewood, Ca. When as a teen he got his first job

on the loading dockof the ChicagoDefender, Mr.Sengstacke Picoucould never havedreamed he'd oneday own the storiednewspaper that wasfounded with 25cents in 1905 by Rob ert SengstackeAbbott. He had come from Los An -geles in the late 1950s to live with hisfather's sister, Myrtle Sengstacke,wife of then Defender Publisher JohnH. Sengstacke, after his mother died.His own father was estranged fromhis family. So the Defender publisherand his wife took him in as a son,and decades later, when the nation'soldest black owned newspaper wentup for sale in the wake of John H.Sengstacke's death in 1997, Mr. Picouwould lead the in vestment group,Real Times, Inc., that eventuallybought the paper.

Herbert R. PohlHerbert R. “Kip” Pohl died March

30. Born in 1942 and raised inLaGrange Park, Kip graduatedLyons Township High School in1960. He went on tostudy journalism atSouthern IllinoisUniversity beforehe returned to LaGrange to take thehelm of his family-owned shopper.Later, he foundedand published The La Grange SunNewspapers, which served the west-ern sub urbs. He eventually sold theSun Newspapers to CopleyNewspapers, Inc., and became headof acquisitions for the company.

Later in his career, he was thepresident and chief executive officerof Homes International magazine, a

subsidiary of Coldwell Banker. Theglossy, luxury lifestyle magazine wasthe first of its kind and paved theway for the multitude of real estatepubli cations in circulation today. Inretirement, he started Iowa CityEntertainment Inc., a multi- businesshospitality company. He was also anowner of Pancheros Mexican Grill, achain of more than 65 restaurants.

Tim SassoneTim Sassone, the longtime

Blackhawks beat writer for the DailyHerald who covered the team duringsome of its most miserable years toits two recentStanley Cup cham-pionships, diedMarch 26. He was58. “It's a sad day.Tim, we like to con-sider him a friend ofeverybody's …”

Hawks wingerPatrick Sharp said. “He was very fair,very honest. We could tell he had apassion for the Blackhawks andcared a lot about the players on theteam.” Sassone, a resident of Lisle,graduated Northern Illinois in 1978and was inducted into the NorthernStar Hall of Fame in 2013.

He began working at the DailyHerald in 1984 and took over theBlackhawks beat in 1988. Later in hislife, he dealt with several healthissues, including a stroke in 2012, buthe continued to write about theBlackhawks despite his health.

Don H. ReubenDon H. Reu ben,

who died Feb. 3 atage 85, is remem-bered as a remark-able, brilliant manwho became a leg-end in Illi nois medialaw. “He was anabsolutely remark-able individual, maybe the mostdynamic and col orful person that

I've ever run across," recalled JohnForeman, publisher of TheChampaign News- Gazette. Duringhis legal career spanning more thansix decades, Mr. Reuben was counselto the Tribune Company, represent-ing its newspaper and broad castproperties; Time Inc.; the CatholicArchdiocese of Chicago; and sportsteams including the Chicago Bears,Chicago Cubs and White Sox.

He also counseled such prominentpeople as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Bill Veeckand George Halas and representedsuch governmental bodies as theIllinois Congressional Dele gationand the Illinois House and Senate.Foreman said Mr. Reuben was a "oneof a kind" man with a brilliant mind.Steve Helle, a University of Illinoisjournalism professor emeritus, calledMr. Reuben a “legend in Illinoismedia law.”

“He single handedly con ceived ofand convinced the Illinois SupremeCourt to adopt the innocent con-struc tion rule,” Helle said.

“That rule was pivot al in protect-ing both media and non-mediadefendants in almost 20 percent of alllibel cases. No other state ever adopt-ed the innocent construction rule,but that's because they didn't haveDon Reuben.”

Nelson

Picou

Pohl

Sassone

Reuben

James F. WalshJames Francis Walsh of Sarasota,

Fla., and LakeGeneva, Wis., diedMarch 20. He grad-uated MichiganState University in1959. Jim was aproud newspaperman. He began hiscareer at theChicago Tribune in 1960 where heexcelled in the advertising depart-ment for 20 years. He then moved tothe Daily Herald where he made hismark as the Vice President ofAdvertising for an additional 20years.

Walsh


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James A. Tidwell, chairman of theJournalism Department at EasternIllinois University, died April 12 fol-lowing a 19-month battle with pan-creatic cancer. He was 65.

A nationally recognized authorityon the First Amendment and the stu-dent press, Dr. Tidwell taught com-munication law to hundreds of stu-dents in his 41-year career in highereducation, including 27 years atEastern. He was the author of MediaLaw in Illinois: A Reporter’sHandbook, among other works onthe First Amendment and the press.

Gregarious and outgoing, Dr.Tidwell possessed a keen sense of

humor. He was wellknown and liked atEastern, where hewas a past chairmanof the Faculty Senateand the Council onAcademic Affairs,and had been a boardmember of the facultyunion, the University

Professionals of Illinois Local 4100,and had served on the administra-tion’s collective bargaining negotiat-ing team.

Born July 6, 1948 in Oklahoma City,he graduated cum laude with a bach-elor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist

University. He earned his master’s injournalism from the University ofOklahoma and graduated with a JurisDoctor cum laude from the BrandeisSchool of Law at the University ofLouisville.

He joined the faculty at Eastern in1987 where he taught every classoffered by the journalism departmentduring his tenure and served as legaladviser to student publications.

He served as director of the EasternIllinois High School Press Association(1988-2005) and as executive secre-tary of the Illinois JournalismEducation Association (1989-2005.)

His journalism career included

work as the editor of the Okmulgee(Oklahoma) Daily Times and as asports writer and copy editor of theOklahoma Journal, a daily newspa-per in Oklahoma City. In addition, heworked at Seminole (Oklahoma)Junior College as publicity directorand for the Moore (Oklahoma)Monitor as reporter and news editor.

The College Media Associationinducted him into its Hall of Fame in2011 and honored him with the ReidH. Montgomery DistinguishedService Award in 2010. The IllinoisJournalism Education Association in2005 honored him with a LifetimeAchievement Award.

Tidwell

EIU mourns Journalism department chair Tidwell

Questions? Contact executive editor Lisa Glowinski at 630-348-3350 or [email protected].

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