John Halverson, a longtime journalist and former general manager of the Lake Geneva Regional News, last week won re-election to the Lake Geneva city council, the newspaper reported.
A journalist for more than 40 years, Halverson served as general manager of the Regional News from 2008 to 2014. He also was a member of the WNA Foundation Board from May 2016 to June 2017.
O’Rourke Media Group announced last week it has launched new websites for its former RiverTown newspapers, ditching its previous regional model for a more local focus.
Rivertowns.net, the previous online home of the (Ellsworth/Red Wing, Minn.) Republican Eagle and the (Hudson) Star-Observer, is being replaced by individual websites for each newspaper. The regional website was launched in August 2019, coinciding with the mergers of several newspapers.
Samantha Yocius, a graphic designer for TP Printing, is leaving the company this week.
Reporter Ross Pattermann noted her departure in a column, saying goodbye and wishing her good luck. Yocius started in July 2019 and spent nearly two years with the company, which publishes The (Abbotsford) Tribune-Phonograph, The (Edgar) Record-Review and the (Loyal) Tribune Record Gleaner.
Out of 1113 respondents to a recent WNA-Polco poll, 77% said they would continue wearing a mask in public in the absence of a statewide mandate. The full results and a breakdown of the data are now available to WNA members for use in their reporting.
Poll questions are available through a WNA partnership with Polco aimed at helping newspapers better engage readers and access enhanced data and insights.
Wisconsin has a long way to go to improve the diversity of its teacher workforce. But local institutions are taking meaningful steps, and actionable state policy options hold promise to help meet that goal.
Jeff Jurena, who in his youth spent time as a community newspaper reporter, died Sunday, March 28, in Gilbert, Ariz. He was 57 and had been diagnosed earlier this year with stage 4 skin cancer.
An Atlanta native, Jurena grew up in Greendale, Wis. A natural athlete, Jurena loved sports, especially bowling and golf. In his younger years, he served as a sports reporter for several community newspapers and also worked for Reiman Publications, a Greendale-based publishing company now affiliated with the Reader’s Digest Corporation.
Reporter Luke Reimer has joined the NEW Media news staff, and will cover Shawano County for the news group. Reimer also writes about pro and college sports for the Wisconsin-based sports website Flurry Sports.
Warren Bluhm, interim editor-in-chief, said in the announcement that Reimer’s “invaluable” digital experience made him an ideal fit for NEW Media. The group, which publishes the Shawano Leader, Oconto County Times Herald and Wittenberg Enterprise and Birnamwood News, is working to grow its online news coverage.
See a list of all the winners, along with the judges’ comments, in our digital High School Better Newspaper Contest Awards Tab publication.
See a list of all the winners, along with the judges’ comments, in our digital Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest Awards Tab publication.
The WNA Foundation on Tuesday celebrated Wisconsin’s outstanding student journalists, announcing the winners of its 2020 collegiate and high school Better Newspaper Contests during a virtual awards ceremony.
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