- Sep 13, 2002
- 94,065
- 190,285
- 113
This is a good read. I do think independent newspaper outlets might thrive once the current death spiral of the chain newspaper industry finally, mercifully comes to an end.
As the local English-language paper struggled, López steps in to start anotherEarlier this year, Lee Enterprises undertook cost-cutting strategies at its local newspaper, The Denison Bulletin-Review, that effectively ended the Bulletin-Review careers of veteran reporters Gordon Wolf and Dan Mundt.But in stepped López — who hired them, and started her own English-language newspaper July 6 — The Denison Free Press. López, Wolf and Mundt work to cover the Denison region, reporting and writing in English and Spanish. López and Wolf, the longtime editor of the Bulletin-Review, were waiting to interview Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley at an Italian restaurant, Bella Sera, near the hospital here when Wolf told López that he'd soon be out of a job. "Come work for me, Gordon," López said. They interviewed Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador. Then, over lunch the next day, Wolf jumped at the opportunity to keep reporting in Denison, a city in which he and López are among the most trusted residents. "Hey, boss," Wolf often says to López when he enters the office. She hates the designation but smiles magnetically when she hears it. “I’ve written about and photographed numerous individuals running for national and state offices, but I believe the most important people I’ve interviewed are those who go out of their way to make life better for others,” Wolf said. “Over the years, I developed a kind of philosophy, or mission statement, about the purpose for my career — to inform readers about their communities, to allow people to learn more about where they live and work and themselves, to help them realize that they are the lifeblood of their communities, and that what they believe and do matters.” Iowa community journalists Lorena López and Gordon Wolf talk recently inside the office of La Prensa Spanish Newspaper and The Denison Free Press above The Donna Reed Theater in downtown Denison. (Photo Courtesy Of The Denison Free Press) With Dan Mundt on board, too, they designed a masthead, built a website, reached out to advertisers and started raising funds from the community for The Denison Free Press — La Prensa's English-speaking sister newspaper. |