Pictured in the attached photo (left to right) taken at the Newsroom Pub & Grill in Milwaukee are: Bill Kurtz (’73); Paula Brookmire (’72); Mark Bennett (current Cardinal sports editor); Alex Morrell (’09); Gabbi Chee, a senior at the University of Dallas who has been working with Brookmire as an intern at the Milwaukee County Zoo; Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Umhoefer (’83) and Pete Faust (’86). Not pictured: Justin Stephani (’10) and Michael Juley (’73).
The
question: What was life like at the Daily Cardinal in the ‘70s and ’80?
The answer:
Just as chaotic as it is now.
The
question: What did you learn at the Cardinal?
The answer:
More journalism than what we did in J-school.
The
question: How do I find a job in the real world?
Answer: Use
the skills you learned in the Cardinal newsroom – they are easily transferable
to virtually any job.
The
questions and answers flowed freely, as did the beer and soda, during the first
Daily Cardinal Alumni/staff mentoring meeting for Milwaukee-area current and
former staffers Aug. 11 at the Newsroom Pub & Grill. Jim Nelson, president
of the Milwaukee Press Club and also Cardinal alum, arranged for the meeting to
be held at the Newsroom Pub & Grill, which is the home of the Milwaukee
Press Club.
The meeting
was arranged by Michael Juley (Class of ’73) at the urging of Allison Sansone
of the Alumni Association, who graciously provided a listing of 300
Milwaukee-area Daily Cardinal alumni and a handful of names of current Cardinal
staff members who lived in the Milwaukee area. From the list of 300, 15 alumni
were invited to attend, along with four current staffers. The numbers were kept
low because such a meeting had never been organized before and organizers
didn’t really know what to expect.
Alumni who
attended included:
Bill Kurtz
(’73), a former member of the Cardinal sports staff and now a communications associate
with Carthage College.
Paula
Brookmire (’71-’72 graduate school), now publications coordinator for the
non-profit Zoological Society of Milwaukee. Paula brought along Gabbi Chee, a
senior at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, who has been working this
summer with Paula as an intern at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Dave
Umhoefer (‘83), former Cardinal reporter (1981-83) and city editor (1983), now
investigative reporter and 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner at the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel.
Pete Faust
(’86), former Cardinal sports writer and now a lawyer with the firm of O’Neil,
Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing.
Michael
Juley (’73), Cardinal sports writer in 1971-’72 and co-sports editor in
’72-’73, now assistant metro editor/police and courts for the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel.
Current or
just-graduated staffers attending included:
Alex
Morrell (’09), editor in chief 08-‘09, and now watchdog intern at the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel.
Mark Bennett,
sophomore, sports editor.
Justin
Stephani, arts editor in spring 2009, managing editor fall 2009, copy chief
spring 2010, journalism grad spring 2010.
All those
in attendance agreed that the meeting was worth the time, and that the alumni
and current staffers should meet again next August. If you wish to attend next
year’s meeting, or just want to stay in touch with Milwaukee-area alumni and/or
current staffers, send an e-mail to Michael Juley at mjuley@journalsentinel.com
and we’ll keep in touch.
Last weekend Cardinal alumni and staffers gathered to give the 2006-2007 Daily Cardinal a fresh start. A renovated office, new computers, new furniture and general cleanup have begun!
DCAA President Anthony T. Sansone writes:
So often, we contribute time and money to a cause and never see the results of our contributions. I wish you all could have been there this past weekend to see how such a (relatively) small amount of money changed the face of the Cardinal. I wish you could have seen the way the staff reacted when the cart stacked with new equipment arrived.
I wish you could have seen all of this because it's the only way to adequately thank you for what you've contributed. A little bit has always gone a long way at the Cardinal, and your little bit went a very, very long way this weekend.
We're far from finished.
The Cardinal still needs to outfit its photography and graphics staffs, and provide vital newsgathering services in the coming months. Its staffers are looking for alumni to speak at meetings and help with recruitment. Your contributions can help make their Cardinal experience one of the best of their lives.
These are just photos of the work in progress. Watch this space for further photos as the office is transformed!
Thank you to all who supported this event. If you have not yet contributed, please contact the DCAA to find out how you can help!
