Newspaper Journalists Oral History Program
Oral History Interviews
- 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.