After 31 years in the Janesville newsroom, reporter Frank Schultz has retired from The Gazette, he announced in a column this week.
A 1986 UW-Madison journalism graduate, Schultz got his start in newspapers as a reporter at The Boscobel Dial. After later working for The Daily Item in Sunbury, Pa., he returned to Wisconsin in 1990 when he joined The Gazette.
Nathaniel Shuda, editor of the Oshkosh Northwestern since 2017, has been named editor of The (Fond du Lac) Reporter. He will oversee both newsrooms as former editor Taima Kern moves to a new role with The (Appleton) Post-Crescent, where she will lead a team of regional business reporters.
A UW-Eau Claire graduate and veteran journalist of 13 years with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Shuda started as a reporter for his hometown (Wisconsin Rapids) Daily Tribune before joining the Northwestern as a reporter in 2014.
In a third staffing change, the network also announced that Kevin Dittman will take on a new role overseeing the group's night news operations and non-daily publications. Dittman, a UW-Oshkosh graduate, has been with the newspaper group for nearly 30 years.
Trevor Greene and Kelly Holm are the two newest reporters in The Lakeland Times newsroom.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee area, Greene graduated from Pewaukee High School before earning his bachelor's degree in English from UW-Milwaukee. The job is his first in newspapers.
Holm, also a Wisconsin native, earned her bachelor's degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., where she studied English and creative writing. While in college, she also wrote for the school's student newspaper, The Oracle. She previously served as an intern for The (Osceola) Sun.
Jim Johnson, a longtime Iowa newspaper manager, has joined O'Rourke Media Group.
Johnson will serve as managing editor for five publications, two of which are online-only. They include the (Hudson) Star-Observer and River Falls Journal in Wisconsin and the Cannon Falls Beacon, Hastings Star Gazette and (Red Wing) Republican Eagle in Minnesota. The Republican Eagle also serves Ellsworth across the border in Wisconsin.
He fills the role vacated by Anne Jacobson, who left in September to become communications manager for Red Wing Public Schools. Jacobson had been with the company for 20 years, serving as editor of the Republican Eagle and later as news director.
Several Adams Publishing Group weekly newspapers in southern Wisconsin moved to new publication schedules this week, publishing and delivering on Friday instead of Thursday.
Among those making the switch were the DeForest Times-Tribune, Lodi Enterprise and Poynette Press, Milton Courier, and The Waunakee Tribune. Jonathan Stefonek, editor of the Times-Tribune, explained readers are expected to benefit from additional midweek coverage, as well as more reliable delivery.
Andrea Hansen Abler, editor of the Campbellsport News and Kewaskum Statesman, announced last week that she was leaving the two eastern Wisconsin newspapers. Her last day was Friday, Oct. 8. She had been with the Campbellsport paper for more than 17 years and with the Statesman for the last six years. Both newspapers are published by Multi Media Channels.
In a farewell column to readers, Abler noted she would continue to help the newspapers on a part-time basis until her replacement has been found. She also recalled the most memorable events she had covered during her tenure with the newspapers and encouraged readers to be patient and help however they can during the transition period following her departure.
Mitchell Keller has been named editor of the Dodge County Pionier. He fills the role vacated by Karen Rouse, who remains with the Pionier as a contributor. He also will continue to serve as sports editor for the newspaper.
Keller graduated in 2012 from UW-Milwaukee with a degree in journalism and film. He went on to serve as a programming intern for the Milwaukee Film Festival, a production intern for NFL Films, director of media and communications for the Melbourne Aces, a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League, and a correspondent for Major League Baseball. He has been a member of the Pionier news staff since October 2018 and previously worked in sales for its sister papers, the Campbellsport News and Kewaskum Statesman.
Jim Babbitt, a retired prosecutor and former Barron County judge, has joined The Chetek Alert as contributing editor. He fills the role vacated by Carl Cooley, who is now news director for the WJMC, WKFX and WAQE radio stations in Rice Lake.
As contributing editor, Babbitt will write weekly feature stories for The Alert. A 1977 UW-Milwaukee graduate, Babbitt studied mass communication and wrote for the UWM Post student newspaper during his undergraduate years. He went on to earn his law degree from UW-Madison in 1979.
George Althoff, former newspaper publisher and past president of the WNA Foundation, has been named executive director of the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce.
Althoff served as WNA Foundation president in 2009, during his 14-year run as a publisher for Lee Enterprises. During his newspaper career, Althoff led the Winona (Minn.) Daily News, the Baraboo News Republic, Portage Daily Register, the Juneau County Star-Times in Mauston, and Wisconsin Dells Events. Following his time in newspapers, he worked as communications director for three state agencies.
Michael Stumpf, publisher of several weekly newspapers in western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota, has taken over as sole owner of the publications.
They include The (Durand) Courier-Wedge, the Buffalo County News in Mondovi, and the Tri-County Area Times, serving Augusta and Osseo. In Minnesota, Stumpf also publishes The Wabasha County Herald, The Plainview News and The St. Charles Press & Lewiston Journal.
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