Doug Moe on Cardinal Alumnus Newhouse

"I knew when I was 9 or 10," Newhouse was saying this week.

He was good, too. The problem was, he kept getting promoted. Newhouse was on the Associated Press chain of command fast track until the day destiny tapped him on the shoulder and he realized that the more he got promoted, the further away he was from the work that brought him into newspapers in the first place.

Which is how a veteran reporter finds himself in Great Falls, Mont., doing what he was born to do - meeting people, listening to them and telling their stories. Newhouse loved Great Falls and it turned out destiny wasn't finished with him, either. He found a subject - alcoholism - and a charismatic man in its grip - Bill Broderson - and so well did Newhouse report the tale that in the year 2000 he received the biggest newspaper prize of them all, the Pulitzer.

Newhouse will be in Madison this coming week, speaking on alcoholism at the Bolz Auditorium on Mound Street for Meriter Pastoral Services Thursday night, and participating in a Daily Cardinal Alumni Association panel of Pulitzer winners on the weekend.

Full story at the link above.

Cardinal Alumnus Michael Wilmington Speaking in Chicago Area

Taylor, Wolman Honored at First Alumni Awards Dinner

In an emotionally charged reunion, the first for the 107 year old Daily Cardinal, alumni from the past 70 years gathered to celebrate their history and recent success in rejuvenating the Cardinal, and honor their most recognized staff.

Robert Taylor received the first "Robert Taylor Service Award", an award named for him. Prof. Taylor rose from reporter to night editor to news editor and to managing editor during his tenure at the paper from 1934 to 1938.

In response to Prof. Taylor's remarks, the 100 person assembly broke into roaring laughter when he said, "that in the 40-some years on the staff and board, so far as I remember, this is the first time I was ever thanked for my service".

Prof. Taylor has the distinction of having the longest serving tenure at the Cardinal. He was with the paper during two staff strikes, one in 1938 and the other in 1975. "I was on the losing side both times," he said.

The reunion began in Grainger Hall with a alumni welcome reception. Alumni filtered into the central meeting space from all eras, dressed in all styles, and in all physical conditions. Several came with assistance from wheelchairs. Alum's wore tradition clothing as well as the style of their day. One actually wore a sweater which has come via the Cardinal newsroom of the sixties.

Peter Greenberg, Daily Cardinal executive editor 1971, currently the travel editor of the Today Show and the host of Travel Daily, was reunited with Gene Wells, a Cardinal staff writer from the sixties. Greenberg was not only stunned to see Wells, who many had believed at that time worked for the paper since the fifties, but was shocked to learn that Wells still occasionally writes for the Cardinal. "I was thrilled to see Gene," said Greenberg. "He seemed to be beamed out of the past."

Dick Leonard, who joined the Cardinal staff in 1939, received the "Daily Cardinal Hall of Fame" award and accepted a similar award for Edward Newman said, "that the enthusiastic reunion showed that the Cardinal was alive and well and that there was a warm and family feeling" at the event.

Responding to an award bestowed on Karl Meyer, editor-in-chief, 1949-50, Leonard recalled the days when Karl Meyer was the UW campus correspondent for the Milwaukee Journal. "He usually had a good story, and I always knew that he would be a big success," Leonard said. Meyer went on to serve, until last year, on the New York Times Editor Board.

Cardinal Alum's were given the opportunity to tour the paper's currently office. Old bound volumes, from a mostly complete archive, were spread over various tables. Debates by those originally involved with the writing, editing , and placement of various articles were resumed. One writer lamented about an article he had written in the 40's which was cut and place "below the fold." The night editor, present in the archive, went on to explain and justify his reasons.

The alumni reunion was also a time for the current staff of the Cardinal to get to know more about and meet those who created their history. This reporter, upon visiting the Cardinal offices in 1986, learned that the entire archive was about to be thrown away. The editor at that time explained "we just microfilmed these books and there is no need to let them take up valuable space." It was evident during this important weekend that the current trustholders of this valuable piece of history know better and are far richer after this experience.