The Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation is thrilled to announce the distinguished industry leaders who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame on Thursday, Nov. 15 in Madison.
The 2018 inductees are:
- Scott Angus, former longtime editor of The (Janesville) Gazette
- William H. “Bill” Howe, lifelong newspaperman who was the third of five generations in the Howe family to publish the (Prairie du Chien) Courier Press
- Andrew Johnson, owner and publisher of the (Mayville) Dodge County Pionier, Campbellsport News and Kewaskum Statesman
- Carol O’Leary, an owner of Central Wisconsin Publications and publisher of The (Medford) Star News and (Cornell) Courier Sentinel
For more about each inductee, see their bios below.
The 2018 Hall of Fame Banquet & Fundraiser will be held at The Madison Club, 5 E. Wilson St., Madison, with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. The induction ceremony will immediately follow dinner. Tickets can be purchased online for $55 per person or $500 for a table of 10.
Sponsorship opportunities and congratulatory ads are also available. Proceeds will benefit the WNA Foundation.
» Purchase tickets
» Become a sponsor
» Run a congratulatory ad
Inductee bios
Scott Angus
Scott Angus worked for 36 years at The (Janesville) Gazette, including 25 as editor, before retiring in 2015. He currently is editorial director for Watertown-based Bedford Falls Communications, which publishes several trade magazines.
Angus, a Fort Atkinson native, started his career in high school and college by working for the Daily Jefferson County Union, where his father, Robert Angus, served as managing editor. Robert Angus, who died in 1995, was posthumously inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2012.
After graduating from UW-Madison in 1978, Scott Angus got his start at The Gazette covering the city and crime beats. Angus was promoted to city editor, news editor and managing editor before being named editor in 1991. In 2005, he was named vice president of news for Bliss Communications, Inc., owner of The Gazette.
In 2004, Angus led a redesign that that was selected by the Inland Press Association as one of the year’s top 10 newspaper innovations, while Editor & Publisher selected the paper as one of “Ten That Do It Right.” During his tenure as editor, The Gazette won numerous awards in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, including best newspaper in its circulation division in 2000, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Angus served on the Associated Press Managing Editors board and is a past president of the Wisconsin AP Editors Association. He also previously served on the board of visitors for the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Bill Howe
William H. “Bill” Howe is the third of five generations of the Howe family that has owned and published the Courier Press, Prairie du Chien’s twice-weekly newspaper.
Howe joined the family business in 1946 at the Courier, which his grandfather Henry “Hank” Howe bought in 1911. Bill Howe and his brother, Lyman “Jack” Howe, took over publishing from 1949 until retiring in 1997.
In their first two decades at the helm, the Howe brothers bought two other Prairie du Chien newspapers. They added the Crawford County Press in 1954 – changing the newspaper name to the Courier Press two years later – and the Prairie Spy in 1966.
From typesetting and delivering newspapers to selling advertising, operating the press and serving as editor, Bill Howe wore many hats at the newspaper during his career. Above all else, he was known for his dedication to the newspaper and community, which made Howe a trusted confidant of local mayors and public officials.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is owner and publisher of the (Mayville) Dodge County Pionier, Campbellsport News and Kewaskum Stateman. He also is president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation and National Newspaper Association.
Johnson purchased the Mayville/Lomira News in July 1988 and the Horicon Reporter in 1989. Twenty years later, he combined them into the Dodge County Pionier. In 2004, he purchased the Campbellsport News, and Johnson most recently bought the Kewaskum Stateman in June 2015.
In addition to his current roles on the WNAF and NNA boards, Johnson is a past president of the WNA Board of Directors and the Mayville Rotary Club.
Johnson’s tireless efforts over the last year played a significant role in the fight against newsprint tariffs, which were ultimately overturned in September. He was one of only two newspaper publishers in the U.S. asked to testify in front of the International Trade Commission about the effect of the tariffs on newspapers.
Along with the tariffs, Johnson has lobbied for newspapers on a number of other issues. He has written columns and testified and talked with Wisconsin legislators to keep legal notices in newspapers, and frequently visits Washington D.C. to speak with legislators and U.S. Postal Service administrators about keeping mail costs down and service up for newspapers.
Carol O’Leary
Carol O’Leary is an owner of Central Wisconsin Publications, Inc., and publisher of The (Medford) Star News and (Cornell) Courier Sentinel and a member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation board.
After starting her newspaper career in her hometown at The (Savanna, Ill.) Times Journal, she married publisher J.A. O’Leary and they became partners in running the paper. In 1970, they sold the Times Journal and moved to Abbotsford, where they purchased The Tribune-Phonograph and The (Edgar) Record-Review. In 1981, they started the Central Wisconsin Shopper, and they purchased The Star News in 1986.
When J.A. O’Leary died unexpectedly in 1997, Carol’s daughter, Kris O’Leary, and Kris’ husband, Kevin Flink, joined the organization. Together they purchased the (Loyal) Tribune-Record-Gleaner in 2010 and the Courier Sentinel in 2012.
Carol O’Leary’s combined service on the boards of the WNA and WNA Foundation has spanned more than 20 years. She served as president of the WNA in 2015 and for a second term in 2016, after the newly-elected president stepped down. O’Leary also has served on the boards of the Inland Press Foundation and the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. She is currently vice president of the ISWNE Foundation and a member of the National Newspaper Association.
