Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Reprinted with permission LuAnn Schindler has been a journalist in Nebraska for over 30 years. She's been a reporter and editor in the northeastern part of the state most of her career. Her office at the Summerland Advocate-Messenger is covered in stories, old newspapers and plenty of awards she's won over the years. Schindler said she's written over 6,000 stories. She's covered court trials, rodeos and the annual turtle race at a community celebration. "It's really gone by fast when I think...
A journalism friend of mine recently hit a milestone birthday - she’s 65 now and thinks she will officially retire from the daily grind of deadlines and late night writing sessions which have fueled much of her newspaper career. She’s a community journalist at heart, a farmer’s wife who spends her down time gathering eggs from the chicken coop and maneuvering a grain cart in tandem with the big red combine, harvesting rows of corn and soybeans. There are grandkids to spend time with, committee r...
NFPW Communicator of Achievement director Karen Stensrud and NPW COA director Ruth Brown contributed to this article. LuAnn Schindler of Clearwater received the 2022 Communicator of Achievement Award from the National Federation of Press Women. This prestigious award has been given for 65 years. Schindler received the honor during a celebration at the organization's annual conference, held June 23 to 25, in Fargo, North Dakota. Now in its 85th year, NFPW is a nationwide organization of...
Even though weather changes daily (and sometimes, minute to minute), it is a constant discussion point. It’s usually one of the few television channels I will tune into while working. Weather has been in the news a lot lately: the May 12 dust and rain storm that caused damage in the area, the nearly month-long days of strong winds this spring, the weekend storms. Sometimes, it feels like I am constantly checking weather notices and sharing updates on the SAM website and our social media c...
When my writing career started more than 30 years ago, I spent months establishing a freelance career. After long days of teaching and coaching, I stayed up late at night, crafting query letters and sending them via snail mail, hoping to get a bite from local publications ... or a big break with a national news outlet. It seems amazing, considering it was in the dark ages - er, I mean pre-internet times. It was hard work, but I was determined to form partnerships with trusted publications and...
Since the Advocate-Messenger's first edition hit your mailboxes on July 25, 2019, our newspaper has had a single mission: Bring community stories to the forefront. We've shared our region's success stories and we've covered the moments when we all have faced struggles. We share photos from sporting events, document engagements and weddings, promote area businesses and record community history. One of the biggest challenges we collectively have faced is the COVID-19 pandemic. As a small...
Last week, I spent part of Thursday, Friday and Saturday meeting colleagues via Zoom, taking part in sessions of the National Newspaper Conference. The socially-distanced version offered multiple chances for sharpening skills and networking with newspaper publishers and reporters from across the United States. The event renewed nearly all of the ethics I believe are key to providing community journalism. And, several sessions left me re-evaluating some ideas newspapers use because “it’s the way...
A community journalist with Nebraska ties joined the Advocate-Messenger staff, July 22. Mark Mahoney, an Omaha native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, will cover the Antelope County Commissioners and general beat articles. Originally a biochemistry major, Mahoney realized science wasn't for him after taking a 100-level biochemistry class aimed at weeding out people from that program. "I looked at other possible majors and I realized I was a good writer, so I considered English and...
We made it. Happy first anniversary to the Advocate-Messenger family. One year ago, Jenna, Cassidy, Sandy and I were using my dining room table as a desk and took over the Schindler hacienda, creating and putting the pieces together for the inaugural issue. Quite a bit has changed in 12 months: we purchased The Office building in Clearwater, waded through the pandemic, applied for our periodicals postal permit (what an experience!) and have hired a veteran community journalist to join our staff...
American playwright Arthur Miller wrote, “A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.” What happens when a newspaper quits talking? One community in Nebraska is discovering the effect of no longer having a local newspaper. When Coleridge residents received the Jan. 1 edition of the Coleridge Blade, a bold hammer headline stretched across the top of the page: Final edition. The paper, published for 131 years, was part of the Northeast Nebraska News Company, which owns new...
It's National Newspaper Week. Normally, I would write about the week's theme and how it relates to you, the reading public, and me, as a journalist. Think F1rst - the 2019 theme - resonates with us because it forms the backbone of our democratic society. The first amendment is important, maybe now more than ever, as we the people hold governmental entities accountable. Limits to the five freedoms - religion, speech, press, assembly and right to petition - exist. Harmful speech is not protected....
The Summerland Advocate-Messenger, a new community newspaper, makes its print and online debut this week. The paper is a trademarked publication owned by ColdType Publishing, LLC, and operated by Scott and LuAnn Schindler, of Clearwater. LuAnn is a veteran journalist and journalism educator. She ran a successful freelance business and worked as a regional correspondent for the Norfolk Daily News before assuming the role of managing editor at the Clearwater Record-Ewing News. She has received wri...
