The Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation inducted three Wisconsin journalism legends into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame during a banquet on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024 held at The Madison Club in Madison, Wisconsin.
Retired La Crosse Tribune editor Rusty Cunningham and the late former Wisconsin newspaper executive Gary Gaier joined former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editor and current Wisconsin Watch chief executive officer George Stanley as 2024 inductees into the Wisconsin Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame.
- Related: Watch videos about 2024 inductees Cunningham, Gaier and Stanley.
Cunningham hailed for community service and being ‘an old-school newsman’
“Anyone who has worked in a newsroom knows the challenges of putting out a daily paper, starting each day with a fresh slate and working it through deadline,” remarked Chris Hardie, a former reporter and editor who worked at the LaCrosse Tribune under Cunningham. “Rusty is an old-school newsman who started in 1977 as a criminal justice reporter. He moved into a city editor role while with the Quad-City Times in Davenport, IA and became an editor in 1992.”
Hardie also credited Cunningham for being a “great mentor” who “not only recognized exceptional journalism, but also developed leaders.”
“Rusty sniffed out good stories and held public officials accountable – in both the paper’s coverage and through editorials. Sometimes that even involved hiring attorneys and filing litigation to defend the public’s right to know,” Hardie wrote in his letter nominating Cunningham for the Hall of Fame. “Even when Rusty was our group publisher, he found the time to work his way through the newsroom, stopping to chat with reporters. No one could keep Rusty away from pacing in the newsroom when there was breaking news or an election to cover.”
Hardie concluded his nomination for Cunningham by listing many community and newspaper industry accomplishments that continue in 2024 with his service on the WNA Board of Directors as well as other community boards and committees.
“There is no individual that I have worked with,” Hardie concluded, “who has made a stronger contribution to newspapers and newspapering in Wisconsin than Rusty – a great journalist and a great friend.”
Cunningham thanked his family, the teams of people he worked with through the years, and Hardie for nominating him for what he said was humbling recognition. He credited his mother and her career as a journalist for preparing him for a lifetime in the profession. Cunningham even wore his mother’s press credentials from a visit by President Ronald Reagan at one point during his remarks.
“Only a fool takes credit,” Cunningham said during one point in his Hall of Fame speech acknowledging the honor.
Gaier remembered for being mentor, industry pioneer
Gary Gaier’s son, Paul, both spoke as his nominee and the representative from the family accepting the induction on behalf of his father, who died in 2015.
“Gary’s leadership and mentorship have also been pivotal. He has guided and nurtured young people in journalism, sales and production. All five of his children have worked in the newspaper business at one time in their career,” wrote Paul Gaier, who works for Adams Publishing Group in Wisconsin, in his letter nominating his father for the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Paul Gaier used a portion of his speech to recognize all of his siblings attending the banquet along with his mother, who also sat at the Gaier table for the induction.
“He was proud of the fact that all of them rose to become top executives in their respective fields. He was a servant leader with high expectations in the pursuit of excellence. His influence extended beyond the ‘paper,’ as he has actively contributed to various professional organizations and community initiatives,” Paul Gaier wrote.
His father was an avid outdoorsman — a fact that Paul Gaier used to start his remarks at the Hall of Fame induction banquet. Paul Gaier said that if his father had still been alive, he’d insist on postponing the induction because deer are in the rut.
During his acceptance remarks during the Hall of Fame, Paul Gaier also repeated a statement his father often used: “Enjoy your hunt.”
He said his father used it as a hunting reference — and someone who later founded a hunting business asked if he could use it, and Gary Gaier agreed.
But, Paul Gaier said during the acceptance speech, the saying often meant more than just a hunting salutation — he’d expand it to mean the hunt for purpose, truth and life satisfaction.
“I am confident that Gary’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame would honor his significant achievements,” Paul Gaier concluded in his nomination letter, “and serve as a fitting tribute to his exceptional career.”
During his acceptance speech, Paul Gaier recalled some lessons learned from his father.
“From my dad, I learned that there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way, but there likely is a best way. I learned that when you fall, you get back up and push hard until you fall again. Then rinse and repeat,” Paul Gaier said. “And I fell many times as a child, and he picked me up every time.
“I learned what we do, between the four walls of our newspapers and in our communities, matters and so important. I’m so inspired by that, I’ve devoted the last 36 years of my life to follow in the footsteps of someone that inspired me, my dad,” said Paul Gaier, who began to grow his beard to resemble his dad. “And to all of you, enjoy your hunt — whatever that may look like.”
Stanley honored for ‘long and illustrious’ journalism career that continues with Wisconsin Watch
“No one is more deserving of the honor. And I mean no one,” wrote Hall of Fame Scott Angus in his letter nominating Stanley.
“As detailed in the attached stories upon his retirement from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and his accepting the job as CEO of Wisconsin Watch, Stanley’s career is long and illustrious,” Angus wrote, and also read, during his remarks preceding Stanley accepting his induction. “His accomplishments are too many to list in detail. His contributions as a leader at the Journal Sentinel and in the industry rank among the most notable in recent newspaper history — not just in Wisconsin, but across the country.”
Stanley credited journalists in Wisconsin for acting as a team. He remembered what happened in 2015 when the state Legislature attempted to gut the state’s Open Records Law as part of a budget bill that passed during the Fourth of July weekend.
“Journalists all around this room and all over the state leaped into action,” Stanley recalled in his speech. “We wrote front page stories and editorials warning the public. WNA made an emergency call out to its members. The leaders and the Freedom of Information Council were all over it, enlisting even conservative Republican groups that supported transparency in government,” Stanley said.
“We used our connections from the old Wisconsin AP editors group. Front page headlines topped newspapers all over the state,” Stanley remembered. “By the time the politicians responsible were waving in Fourth of July parades, they have begun to backpedal in their treat. That’s teamwork, and it extends even beyond all the people in groups I just mentioned.”
Wisconsin Watch produces stories that can be used by WNA members free of charge, Stanley said, “to fill the news gaps in deserts that threaten community life and our democracy, where for profit, local news outlets no longer have the resources to do expensive in depth reporting, or to cover all local government meetings and hearings, or to keep track of what their representatives are doing in Madison.”
Stanley also remembered what Alexis de Tocqueville said when asked about the greatness of America. “ ‘The greatness of America,’ he replied, ‘lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.’ This is how we repair our faults, with a free press of common citizens who tell their neighbors what’s really going on, so that people in power can’t control the story and pit us against them and point for troubles to never get fixed.”
Stanley concluded his acceptance speech by remembering a hunt he went on as a young outdoor writer with retired General Chuck Yeager, the pilot immortalized for breaking the sound barrier in the book and film “The Right Stuff” who began his career as a World War II double flying ace.
Stanley recalled what happened when he asked Yeager a question. “ ‘You know,’ he recalled Yeager saying, ‘I’ve really only done one thing my whole life. I did the best I knew how, at the job I was given that day. Everything else took care of itself the best I knew how at the job I was given.’ That’s what it’s all about,” Stanley concluded. “Enjoy your hunt.”
Sunshine in Government Award
Also honored during the event was Town of Minocqua Clerk Roben Haggart, who received the WNA’s Sunshine in Government Award, which recognizes efforts by Wisconsin citizens and public officials to protect and strengthen open government.
Gregg Walker, publisher of The Lakeland Times in Minocqua, nominated Haggart for the award. Walker told the Hall of Fame banquet audience that the newspaper has given grades for open government for the past two decades. A couple of years ago, the Minocqua Town Board had a walking quorum, and Walker wanted the records to prove it.
“I’m on the phone with Roben [saying] ‘Hey, we need these records. I want the records. I want their cell phone records. I want this. I want to make sure they understand what’s going on.’ Because we’re going to turn this over to the sheriff, they’re going to investigate — our district attorney will prosecute these people,” Walker said.
“These are Roben’s acquaintances . . . she gave us those records that led to the exposing of a walking quorum,” Walker recalled. “She went against those individuals she’s been on the board with for years. “And that’s why those things are so critical — because it builds a better community . . . it takes somebody with integrity and a spine to stand up for what’s right when you’re up against it,” Walker concluded. “And that’s Robin Haggart, and that’s why she deserves this award.”
Haggart said she was humbled to be in the presence of journalism greatness. “This has been a great honor for me,” she said in accepting the award. “Thank you.”
WNA Executive Director Beth Bennett, WNA Foundation president Scott Peterson and WNA president Kris O’Leary served as masters of ceremonies. Sponsors included Wisconsin Watch and The Edgerton Reporter.
About the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame
Created in 2001 to honor visionaries and innovators in the Wisconsin newspaper industry, the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame recognizes both living and deceased individuals with induction.
Hall of Fame nominations are open to anyone, living or deceased, who has contributed above and beyond the call of duty to newspapers and newspapering in Wisconsin. This includes publishers, editors, reporters, photographers or any other newspaper personnel with significant contributions to the newspaper industry.
Inductees have dedicated at least 15 years of service to newspapering.
About the Wisconsin Newspaper Association
Created by and for Wisconsin’s newspapers in 1853, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association exists to strengthen the newspaper industry, enhance public understanding of the role of newspapers, and protect basic freedoms of press, speech and the free flow of information.
WNA is the single point of contact for newspapers in Wisconsin. In addition to serving its member newspapers, WNA serves advertisers and communications professionals through its advertising placement program and news tracking service.
The WNA encompasses three entities: The Wisconsin Newspaper Association, a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade association; the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization; and, WNA Services, Inc., a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
Together, along with the assistance of staff, the three branches of the WNA work together to offer a number of services for its members, advertisers and the general public.
