Senator Sings Newspaper's Praises





It's not every day we get a personal call from a U.S. senator, but that's what happened recently when Editor-in-Chief Sid Holt picked up the phone and heard Pat Roberts, R-Kan., on the other end. Roberts was bursting with praise for a newspaper publisher in a small city back home.



Since politicians are prone to exaggerate a bit, we decided to look into it ourselves - and discovered that when it comes to community newspaper publishing, Ann K. Charles, indeed, has the right stuff.



When a tornado hit Parsons, Kan., on April 19, the city's worst natural disaster in recent memory, the editor and publisher of the Parsons Sun showed what a large difference a small paper can make. The twister cut a path through the southeastern Kansas city of 11,000 and destroyed or damaged 800 homes and 130 businesses. Damage was estimated at $40 million.



With a power outage knocking the local radio station off the air, Charles realized the newspaper would be the only local news source available the next day. She decided to double the press run to make sure every home in the tornado's path received a copy of the paper, whether its occupants were subscribers or not. A series of 20-hour workdays left her exhausted.


In the months after the disaster, the Sun filled its pages and Web site with coping tips and progress reports on recovery from the tornado, which is still Page One news six months later. As damaged businesses rebuilt, the Sun gave them free advertising. Charles met with elected officials and relief agencies, and she opened her office door to frustrated residents.



Her efforts won the attention of Sen. Roberts, who told E&P that Charles helped restore confidence in Parsons. "She deserves sort of a tornado Pulitzer," he said.







Lucia Moses (lmoses@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor covering business for E&P.







Copyright 2000, Editor & Publisher.