Newspapers, then and now

The passing of Bill Hamel, whose 45-year career at the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier was consequential in multiple ways, elicits memories of the changing newspaper landscape through the years. In a column in February 2002, Hamel revisited some of the highlights, beginning with memories of his father’s era, which started in 1926 (his father was …

Meaningful attire

My recent purchase of the sweatshirt pictured with this post sent me down memory lane. From 1979-83, I worked alongside smart, talented, ambitious, hard-working, purpose-driven colleagues in an atmosphere we could not recreate. We were all University of Illinois students putting in the foundation for our careers. The Daily Illini, the independent, student-run newspaper, was …

A lesson on civics

“We spend roughly $50 per student per year on STEM fields and 5 cents per student per year on civics.” In writing these words, scholar Danielle Allen acknowledges the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). “The United States needs science. It needs technological innovation, and it needs scientists to advise elected leaders,” she wrote, …

A news startup

A third of the people take the newspaper because of the ads I was told when beginning as a publisher. People get the flyers and plan their grocery shopping. When the rummage sales come out, rummagers map out their route. Classifieds represented a community exchange. Some took the car ads and purchased a specific car, …

Death in the news

One thing I enjoy on weekends like this one when I make time for national and international newspapers is the journalist-written obituaries. Some are about people I know a little about, others not. Some lived more prominent, public lives than others. It is always welcome to see the varied paths that encompass life stories. You …