Member News

Pam Mathes has been promoted to general manager of O’Rourke Media Group’s holdings in Wisconsin, according to an announcement published earlier this month.

Mathes formerly served as director of sales operations for the company. In her new role, she will direct employees working in the business office, graphic design and sales.

Alexandria Bursiek Kloehn has joined The (Appleton) Post-Crescent as a business reporter producing The Buzz, the newspaper's blog and newsletter about the comings and goings in the Fox Valley business scene.

An Appleton native, Bursiek Kloehn was most recently the Streetwise reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. 

Kylie Balk-Yaatenen has joined The (Janesville) Gazette as its new community, public safety and courts reporter. In her new role, she will cover the greater Rock County area.

A Wausau native, Balk-Yaatenen earned her degree in multimedia journalism this year from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. In college, she worked at the Advance-Titan student newspaper as a staff reporter covering arts and entertainment, later, as editor of the entertainment section.

The EagleHerald in Marinette has announced on that Erin Noha, a Menominee native, has joined the newspaper as a local news reporter.

Noha previously worked for more than 11 years in online content creation and social media marketing. Her new position will combine her journalism experience and marketing and social media skills.

Daniel Kramer, a longtime photojournalist and Green Bay native, has joined The Press Times as managing editor, the newspaper announced Friday.

Kramer has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and an MFA in documentary photojournalism from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. He has served as a writer, photographer and editor at several newspapers and was a staff photographer for the Houston Press from 2003 to 2009. Most recently, he has worked as a photography instructor and independent photographer.

After 33 years in the newspaper business — 22 as editor of the (Prairie du Chien) Courier Press — Ted Pennekamp is retiring, he announced in a column Wednesday. Prior to joining the Courier Press, Pennekamp worked as a reporter and photographer for the (Beaver Dam) Daily Citizen.

Pennekamp's longtime co-editor, Correne Martin, left the newspaper in August to teach special education English at Prairie du Chien High School. Earlier this month, the Press announced Mellissa R. Collum, a Prairie du Chien resident with a background in academia, had joined the newspaper as an editor.

Zacharias Strohecker, a southern California native and recent graduate of Cal Poly Pomona University with a bachelor’s of science in communication, has joined the Waunakee Tribune, Lodi Enterprise-Poynette Press and DeForest Times reporting team, Adams Publishing Group has announced.

In college, Strohecker reported for the Poly Post student newspaper, where he covered news, sports and the arts, and wrote opinion pieces.

Zack Goodrow, a 2022 graduate of Grand Valley State University near Grand Rapids, Mich., has been hired as a sports reporter for The (Janesville) Gazette. In his new role, he will cover Janesville, Milton and surrounding areas.

In college, Goodrow served as the editor-in-chief of his student newspaper, the Grand Valley Lanthorn, won three Michigan Press Association awards for his sports stories and columns, created a university podcasting network and produced his own sports podcast.

The Wisconsin State Journal has added six journalists to its staff, reflecting the newspaper's commitment to covering local news, editor Kelly Lecker said in the announcement.

They include Melissa Perry, a Northwestern University graduate who most recently interned at WBEZ Chicago; Daniela Jaime, an Illinois State University graduate who previously worked as a reporter at Chicago Documenters and City Bureau; Kirsten Adshead, a seasoned journalist with more than 20 years of experience; Olivia Herken, who previously worked as a local government reporter at the La Crosse Tribune; Addison Lathers, former editor of The (UW-Madison) Daily Cardinal who recently interned with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's investigations team; and Kimberly Wethal, who previously worked as an education and government reporter at The (Janesville) Gazette.

Jonathan Stefonek, managing editor of the Lodi Enterprise & Poynette Press, has been writing stories most of his life. Now, he has written a book, reports Bridget Cooke of the Portage Daily Register.

“The Adventures of Carol and Boscobel,” features two cats who escaped from an animal shelter. Disillusioned by humanity, the pair flee to the wild to live a more authentic, feral life. But being domesticated cats, they run into some problems along the way.