After roughly five years, Ashland Daily Press reporter/interim editor Tom Stankard is leaving the newspaper to take over editing and publishing an undisclosed magazine which is located more than 900 miles away.
Stankard outlined his plans in a farewell column published April 9, 2026 in The Daily Press. According to the column:
“I fell out of love with journalism due to burnout while working for a paper in Celina, Ohio. This made me want to see what else I could be good at,” Stankard wrote.
The burnout subsided, Stankard applied for many different jobs and saw an opening at The Daily Press. He applied and received a phone call from Pete Wasson. “We hit it off and before I knew it, started writing again as a reporter.”
He regained his love for writing and journalism.
“As much as I liked reporting good stories, covering hard news was also part of the job. I took my responsibility seriously as a reporter to let the community know when Ashland was preparing to raise its water rates, when a cellphone tower might go up in Bayfield County, or when Northland College announced it was going to close its doors for good,” Stankard wrote.
After Wasson retired, it became Stankard’s job to keep the Ashland Daily Press news room running. On top of my regular reporter duties, he found himself working on police reports late Sunday afternoon then working withthe page designer that evening to put the upcoming paper together. “It opened my eyes to how much extra jobs editors have to do to put out a newspaper every week. The workload was exhausting.
“Going back to just being a reporter allowed me to focus more on what I love doing most, covering the community,” Stankard wrote.
While his girlfriend and he are sad to leave, Stankard said he is excited about the future: “This may be goodbye, but the Chequamegon Bay will hold a place in my heart forever. Thank you!”
