Newspaper Journalists Oral History Program
Oral History Interviews
- Doug Anderson, Dean, Penn State College of Communications
Doug Anderson speaks about growing up in Nebraska, his career in newspapers, the transition to higher education and his approach leading mass communications programs at Arizona State and Penn State. - John Baer, Daily News
John Baer speaks about his family, including his father who was a political reporter; about his first job in journalism at the Evening News in Harrisburg; about working at WITF-TV and on the gubernatorial campaign of Bill Scranton; about working as a political reporter and later a columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News for 32 years; about memorable stories and columns; about the role of a political columnist; and about how the newspaper business has changed. - Cate Barron, Patriot-News
Cate Barron speaks about her family and education; about her first job in journalism at WMRF-FM; about working as a reporter at the Lewistown Sentinel; about the various positions she held at the Harrisburg Patriot and later the Patriot-News; about important stories the newspaper covered, including the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal; about reporter Sarah Ganim winning the Pulitzer Prize for her reporting of the scandal; about the impact of online news and the evolution of PennLive.com; and about becoming president of the PA Media Group. - Fred Behringer, Ambler Gazette
Fred Behringer speaks about his family; about covering sports in high school; about working as the sports editor of the newspaper at Brown; about the various positions he held at the Ambler Gazette; about the coverage of the community by the Gazette and the role of weekly newspapers; about the growth of Montgomery Publishing and his role with the company; and about the consolidation of newspaper ownership. - Ron Bracken, Centre Daily Times
Ron Bracken speaks about his family and growing up in Centre County; about the nature of high school sports reporting in the area; about how Penn State's increasing popularity impacted local reportage of its success; about covering Penn State football during the tenure of coach Joe Paterno; and about the experience of working for a newspaper during its acquisition by a major publishing company (Knight Ridder followed by McClatchy). - Carmen Brutto, Patriot-News
Carmen Brutto speaks about his family and growing up in Shenandoah; about studying journalism at Temple; about serving in World War II; about his first jobs at the Evening News in Shenandoah; and about covering the state government for the Patriot-News in Harrisburg for 32 years. - Harry Deitz Jr., Reading Eagle
Deitz speaks about his family, including the influence of his father who was a journalist; about his education and working at newspapers while he was in school; about the various newspapers where he worked; about joining the Reading Eagle and moving through the ranks to become editor; about the role of the newspaper in the city; about important stories the newspaper covered; about writing a weekly column; and about the changes in the newspaper business. - Nancy Eshelman, Patriot-News
Nancy Eshelman speaks about her family; about attending college and writing for the student newspaper while being married and raising her children; about her first job for the women’s section of the Sunday News; about the opportunities for women at the time; about joining the Patriot-News as a staff writer; about writing a weekly column for more than 25 years; about the purpose of a local columnist; and about how the newspaper business has changed for women. - Gene Foreman, Philadelphia Inquirer
Gene Foreman speaks about his family; about working as a reporter and editor at the Arkansas Gazette during the school integration crisis; about working as a copy editor at the New York Times; about being an editor at the Pine Bluff Commercial and the Arkansas Democrat; about being executive news editor at Newsday; about his 25 years as a top editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, during which time the newspaper won 18 Pulitzer Prizes; and about being a professor of journalism at Penn State. - William E. Jones, Johnstown Tribune-Democrat
William E. Jones speaks about his family; about attending school in Conemaugh Township; about joining the Democrat as a copy boy after high school; about being a cub reporter; about his service in the U.S. Army; about the various positions he held at the Tribune-Democrat; about being editor of the Windber Era; and about how the newspaper changed during his long career. - Adrian Lee, Philadelphia Bulletin / Daily News
Adrian Lee speaks about his experiences writing for the Philadelphia Bulletin and the Philadelphia Daily News; about what it was like working for the now-defunct Bulletin before it closed; about his experiences covering the Six Day War and the Vietnam War; about covering the Philadelphia police beat while remaining in competition with the city’s other major daily, the Philadelphia Inquirer; and about his experiences writing about Frank Rizzo, former mayor of Philadelphia. - Nancy March, The Mercury / Daily Local News
Nancy March speaks about her family and education; about working in various news positions, including reporter, copy editor, and city editor at The Mercury; about her two stints as editor of the newspaper; about The Mercury’s staff and newsroom ethos; about the newspaper’s editorial campaigns and Thomas Hylton winning the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing; about working while raising two children with her husband; about the role of The Mercury in the community; and about her love of journalism. - Bill Marimow, Philadelphia Bulletin / Inquirer
Bill Marimow speaks his first job working for a trade magazine; about the stories he worked on as a reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer, including two series that won the Pulitzer Prize; about being the Main Line Neighbors editor and city editor at the Inquirer; about being metro editor, managing editor and editor at the Baltimore Sun; about being managing editor at National Public Radio News; about returning to Philadelphia to work in various positions at the Inquirer; and about how the newspaper business has changed during his career. - Jim McClure, York Daily Record
Jim McClure speaks about his first jobs as a reporter, editor, and publisher; about become managing editor of the York Daily Record; about the Joint Operating Agreement with the York Dispatch and competing against the Dispatch; about adapting to new technological platforms, including the Internet; about important stories the newspaper reported; about ownership changes at the Daily Record; about becoming regional editor as a result of the new ownership; and about how his Christian faith has informed his work. - Charles Meredith, Quakertown Free Press
Charles Meredith speaks about his family; about the family's ownership of the Quakertown Free Press; about attending the University of Pennsylvania; about his career at the Free Press and the journalism the newspaper practices; about his involvement in the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publisher Association; about changes in journalism, including family ownership of newspapers; and about the sale of the Free Press to Times Mirror Co. - Jim Naughton, Philadelphia Inquirer
Jim Naughton speaks about his experiences writing for the Painesville Telegraph and the Cleveland Plain Dealer; about what it was like being a member of the New York Times Washington Bureau as a young reporter; about his experiences covering the 1970 Presidential campaign; about what it was like to work as national editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer under Gene Roberts and Gene Foreman; and about his thoughts on the future of journalism. - Brian O'Neill, Pittsburgh Press / Post Gazette
Brian O’Neill speaks about his family and education; about working as a reporter at the Danville (Virginia) Register; about working as a reporter and a columnist at the Roanoke Times & World-News; about joining the staff of the Pittsburgh Press and later the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a columnist; about the role of a local columnist and his approach to writing a column; about some of his memorable columns; about his book, The Paris of Appalachia; about the changes in the newspaper business during his career; and about his affection for Pittsburgh. - Gene Roberts, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Gene Robert speaks about his family, including his father who was a newspaper editor; about growing up in North Carolina; about his various reporting positions as well as some of the major stories he covered; about his years as editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, when it became one of the most respected newspapers in the United States and the winner of seventeen Pulitzer Prizes; about serving as executive editor of The New York Times; about serving on the faculty at the University of Maryland; and about being co-author (with Hank Klibanoff) of The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for History. - Madelyn Ross, Pittsburgh Press / Post-Gazette
Madelyn Ross speaks about her family; about working as editor of her newspaper in high school and college; about the various positions she held at the Pittsburgh Press; about being one of the first female managing editors of a major American daily newspaper; about helping to edit the two Pulitzer Prize-winning series won by the Press; about the strike at the Press and the Post-Gazette and the closing of the Press; and about serving as managing editor of the Post-Gazette. - Inga Saffron, Philadelphia Inquirer
Inga Saffron speaks about her family and education; about working as a freelance writer in Ireland; about working as a reporter for the Courier News; about working as suburban reporter, Eastern European correspondent, and architecture writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer; about her approach to reporting about architecture, design and planning issues; about the role of an architecture critic and important stories she has covered; about winning the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism; and about how journalism has changed for women during her career. - Ernest Schreiber, Lancaster New Era
Ernest Schreiber speaks about his family’s roots in Lancaster; about his work as reporter for more than 25 years; about becoming editor of the Lancaster New Era; about the important stories the newspaper reported during his career; about the competition with the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal; about the significance of local ownership of the three Lancaster newspapers; about the role of the newspapers in Lancaster County; about how the newspaper business changed during his career; and about merging the three newspapers. - Willis Shenk, Lancaster Newspapers
Willis Shenk speaks about his family and his education; about working as a bookkeeper after high school; about joining Lancaster Newspapers Inc. and the various positions he held with the company; about the Steinman family, the owners of Lancaster Newspapers; about the role of the Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster New Era and Sunday News in the community; and about changes in the business of journalism, including family ownership of newspapers. - John Troan, Pittsburgh Press
John Troan speaks about his family and growing up near Scranton; about being editor of the Daily Collegian; about his service in World War II; about working as a medical writer for the Pittsburgh Press and the science writer for Scripps Howard Newspapers; and about being editor of the Press. - Pat Walker, Bucks County Courier Times
Pat Walker speaks about her family and education; about how she got interested in journalism; about the first newspapers where she worked; about joining the Courier Times and eventually becoming editor; about important stories the newspaper covered; about the role of the Courier Times in Bucks County; about the struggles of being a woman working in journalism; about becoming editor of the three Calkins Media newspapers in the Philadelphia area when the editorial operations were combined; and about the impact and online news on newspapers. - Signe Wilkinson, Daily News
Wilkinson speaks about her family and education; about her first job and starting to draw editorial cartoons; about joining the San Jose Mercury News as a full-time editorial cartoonist and later the Daily News; about the Daily News as a place to work; about the process of drawing a daily cartoon; about being one of the few cartoonists who is woman; about some of her best-known cartoons; about winning the 1994 Pulitzer Prize; about the role of editorial cartoonists; and about drawing a comic strip.