June 24th, 2008 11:40am
Anna Voelker
We have some talented journalists in our newsroom, and I enjoy watching as they grow into multimedia journalists.
Billy Kulpa, a 2001 Harlem grad and 2007 NIU grad, started with us Jan. 7. On his first day, Billy was shooting footage of the Boone tornado. He got this story on Edwards Orchard. And that video, which he shot with a Sony Handycam, is pretty terrific.
In the last six months, Billy’s learned how to shoot video with our Sony HD cameras. On Saturday, he used that equipment for this story on the Phantom Regiment’s conductor. See/hear any differences in Billy’s latest production?
Billy Kulpa
June 23rd, 2008 11:45am
Anna Voelker
Brian Williams filled Tim Russert’s seat on Meet the Press yesterday and announced that Tom Brokaw will temporarily moderate the show. The first guests were Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Biden. The pair were supposed to appear on the show the week before, but were rescheduled after Russert’s unexpected death.
Brokaw will fill the seat, at least temporarily, but who should get the gig permanently? Brokaw? Other names have been mentioned. Katie Couric. Chris Matthews. David Gregory. If you called the shots at NBC, who would you choose?
June 20th, 2008 01:18pm
Jennie Pollock
a big announcement:
starting monday, doug gass will be the managing editor of the rockford register star, the no. 2 leadership position in the newsroom.
doug has been at the register star since 1993. he started as a copy editor and has worked in management for a long time: as assistant news editor (he was one of my first bosses), features editor (that’s how many people know him) and deputy managing editor (part of the top management team).
clearly, doug has been committed to rockford and the register star. you’ll start learning more about him in this video and this story.
doug replaces lil swanson in the job. lil, whose last day is today, will be missed for her commitment to recruiting, training and doing the right thing for readers and her staffers (she brought in a swedish pancake breakfast for her turn in the weekly donut rotation, for goodness sake!). as she would say, “be good!” we wish her well.
June 20th, 2008 08:44am
Jennie Pollock
it’s officially summer. not because of the calendar, but because the 76-page july/august issue of rockford woman is out.
get yours at one of our 100-plus locations or subscribe ($15 for six issues) by calling 815-987-1400.
above is a photo by amy j. van horn of somchan thatsanaphon, vice president of her brother’s loves park manufacturing company, K-I machine tool & production inc., and the main subject of our cover story about networking. the photo we used on the cover of the magazine is slightly different. she’s not smiling in that one, and it just seemed more down to business, though both are lovely. the pink is perfect.
June 19th, 2008 03:17pm
Jennie Pollock
today, executive editor linda grist cunningham was honored by the rockford chamber of commerce’s woman manager of the year award. our early story is here. watch for photos and video later.
it’s hard to summarize all the reasons she won, but i’ll share with you the top of the nomination.
Linda Grist Cunningham would tell you that there’s a difference between a manager and a leader. Managers manage, and leaders lead. More specifically: Managers plan, solve problems and get things done. Leaders set the vision, innovate and inspire.
Linda was born, it seems, with the rare gift of being both an efficient manager and a dynamic leader.
She deserves to be named the Manager of the Year for not only her long-term impact but also her short-term savvy. She has been the executive editor at the Rockford Register Star for 17 years, which has provided a foundation for consistently progressive work in the industry and for the community we serve. But the last year and a half have probably been the most challenging in her 30-year career. Despite a corporate ownership change and voluntary staff buyouts in a struggling field, she revamped the newspaper and rrstar.com and launched three successful new products in Rockford Woman, BusinessRockford.com and HealthyRockford.com. This kind of leadership – amid floods, a tornado and a tragic campus shooting – earned her and the Register Star the 2007 Newspaper of the Year from GateHouse Media, our parent company.
we are proud of her accomplishments and awards. she is a big part of why i’ve stayed in rockford for 13 years. the photo above is from an event this fall. she could not attend the women’s expo, so she videotaped her speech in advance — like a pro, in two takes.
congratulations to the other winners as well:
Joy Baldwin, assistant vice president of cash management services at Alpine Bank, took home the Woman Business Leader of Tomorrow award.
MaryAnn Norwood, owner and president of Pathways Employee Assistance Program, won the Woman Business Owner of the Year award.
June 17th, 2008 12:10pm
Anna Voelker
Our readers have sent us some pretty incredible flood photos. Check out this one from Tim Speer of Roscoe.
Here’s how he did it. “Sending an image from over the weekend of a passing storm that I took as an HDR (high dynamic range) image,” Tim wrote in an e-mail. “It is basically a composite of several different images of the same subject shot at different exposures to achieve an image with a full range of tones. Hope you enjoy.”
Wow, Tim. I did enjoy. Thanks. Oh, and, and check out more of Tim’s work on his Web site. And see more reader shots here.
June 16th, 2008 08:43am
Jennie Pollock
two videos from friday night deserve a mention.
one was pretty complicated, or at least to me: a time-lapse of the zhou brothers art performance with rick nielsen and donald fraser. tv stations often use tv lapse to show how weather changes or to show action in a summary or comic manner. this was artistic, just like the show.
the other was quick and simple: the first triplet in the kuhl family to come home from the hospital. look how little gavin is! can’t wait to see them all home together soon.
thanks to billy kulpa, kelley simms and the delivery desk for allowing our readers to see these moments in a timely manner. both were important.
June 14th, 2008 06:30pm
Anna Voelker
I tried to find a video yesterday when news of Tim Russert’s death broke. It’s the one of Election Night 2000 when he as on air with Tom Brokaw and whips out that white board on which he eventually wrote three words: “Florida, Florida, Florida.” I couldn’t find any clips of that moment, but I did find this Today Show interview with Matt Lauer. Scroll the bar over to the 4-minute mark.
Russert will be missed.
June 13th, 2008 01:50am
Jennie Pollock
while wrex-13 and the register star have worked together for four years, we’re still technically “competitors” in the media market. or at least when it comes to auto racing.
don’t miss georgette braun (right, above) and dani maxwell talking trash before the june 20 media race at the rockford speedway’s night of racing thrills: loves park police versus businessmen grudge races. geo will write about this in her column june 19.
p.s. wrex has revamped its web site.
June 12th, 2008 09:01am
Jennie Pollock
linda grist cunningham, the executive editor of the register star since 1991, has been blogging on bricks and clicks since we launched the blog in february 2006 (sorry, we lost all posts pre-august 2007 when we changed rrstar!).
now “the boss” is writing her own blog, editor’s note, so find out why in her second post.
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