The Indiana Publisher

B etty Jean Weesner had the same job for almost 60 years and never got a promotion. She would have complained to the boss, but she was the boss – both the editor and the publisher of The Republican, the oldest newspaper in Hendricks County. One hun- dred seventy years old to be exact. Betty always liked to be exact. Betty passed away March 23 at the age of 90. Since 1890, The Republican has had only three editors. When I reached their office to offer my condolences, her long-time assistant Betty Bartley said, "Yeah, some newspapers have that many editors in a year." Betty Weesner started her career at The Republican in the late '30s – when she was 10 – writing school news. The editor was a crusty old journalist who also happened to be her father. The publisher was a crusty old journalist, too. (Also her father.) "My dad paid me a dollar a week. I was in it for the money," she once kidded me. In the 1950s, she gradu- ated from the IU School of Journalism (rare for a woman at the time) and took over for her dad in the mid '60s. The tiny storefront on Main Street in Danville has housed the newspaper for more than a century, having moved from a couple of other locations over the years. During Betty's 60-year career as editor, she didn't miss a single issue, even bat- tling snowstorms to make her deadlines. "People love their local paper," she said. "When we mess up, we hear about it." The old building is chock- full of, well, everything, but mostly stacks of newspapers going back decades. There's also an old linotype machine and wood type from the Civil War. Up until just a few years ago, the paper was laid out the old- fashioned way by cut- ting and pasting news copy onto storyboards, then sending the proofs off to the printer. The Republican went digital about five years ago. Betty's view of what was worthwhile for her publica- tion echoed her father's phi- losophy. He was once asked why Lindbergh's crossing of the Atlantic was not reported in The Republican back in 1927. "Because Lindbergh was not from Hendricks County," said the late Edward J. Weesner. Betty had a more lax policy. "If you want to get in The Republican you have to either be born in Hendricks County, live in Hendricks County, work in Hendricks County or get in trouble in Hendricks County." I once asked her to print my humor column each week, and she pretty much told me that unless I was thrown in the local pokey, she couldn't justify putting my name in her newspaper. Betty believed in local newspapers. "They confirm the gossip you've heard all week," she once told me. She was an influential force in the community for decades and still covered town council news until just a few years ago. Even from her nursing home the past few months, she read each issue, occasion- ally pointing out a typo, but she was more apt to praise her tiny but loyal staff for their hard work. In 2007, I interviewed Betty for a TV segment. The story earned an Emmy award. I went to Danville to tell her about the honor, but she said she still couldn't mention me in her weekly edition. "But it's only noon," she told me. "Plenty of time for you to still get arrested." Dick Wolfsie is an Indiana TV personality and writer whose columns appear in 30 Indiana newspapers. Contact him at wolfsie@aol.com. Page 2 April 14, 2016 If you need bail money you might get in her paper J eff Gillaspy ran The Elk- hart Truth newsroom with his sleeves rolled up, his tie often loosened. The door to his office was almost always open. The green or red wax pencils he favored on layout sheets were also used to write notes of praise to his staff on sheets of news- print. Gillaspy, who was manag- ing editor of the newspaper from 1966 to 1996, died March 16, 2016, after battling cancer for 13 months. He was 79. Gillaspy became one of the youngest managing editors in the state of Indiana when the Mishawaka Times closed and he moved to Elkhart to lead the newsroom, said Steve Bibler, a former reporter and city editor who worked for Gillaspy for nearly 25 years. "He was a great leader. He was a great role model for an aspiring journalist like me," Bibler said. Gillaspy was patient with his staff, particularly young journalists, Bibler said. He served in the U.S. Army and graduated from Indiana University. At the Times, he went from reporter to city editor to news editor. After coming to Elkhart as man- aging editor, he encouraged journalists to treat readers like they were part of the newspaper. "Jeff was always looking for ways to engage readers to help them feel like The Elkhart Truth was their newspaper," said Bibler. The newsroom investigated consumer complaints for Truth Line, tallied reader entries in Sweet 16 contests, and published Green Sheet when Concord basketball teams were making state finals basketball runs. "He was a great encour- ager, but he was also a great driver," Bibler said, noting his competitiveness and how editors or reporters had to explain reasons to Gillaspy when they got beat on a story. Reporters more likely remember the notes he left on their desk signed "JG," and many still have those cherished notes from the boss they loved. "To me, he was the epitome of a real newspaper guy," said Marcia Fulmer, whom Gillaspy hired to do society news and then entertainment coverage. "Tough, under- standing, always looking to get at the truth of the story no matter what it was." When Fulmer became a single mother of two young children, "he made sure I got added stuff to do which included a raise which allowed me to take care of my family," she said. He didn't want credit or praise. "It was just what he did," she said. As a journalist, he didn't show bias or vindictiveness, Bibler said. He wanted good government and education, civil order, people to love each other and their pets. "His bias was he cared immensely for Elkhart and the community," he said. After he was no longer managing editor, he main- tained an office in the third floor of the Truth building and continued writing his Nearly Delirious columns. That continued through March 2012, when he wrote his last one and closed out 50 years in journalism with Truth Publishing Co. Betty Jean Weesneer Jeff Gillaspy Guest Voice Dick Wolfsie HSPA staff Steve Key, executive director and general counsel skey@hspa.com • (317) 624-4427 Pamela Lego, MAP advertising director plego@hspa.com • (812) 350-7711 Milissa Tuley, communications manager mtuley@hspa.com • (317) 624-4430 Yvonne Yeadon, office manager yyeadon@hspa.com • (317) 624-4433 Shawn Goldsby, statewide advertising manager sgoldsby@hspa.com • (317) 803-4772 The Indiana Publisher is published monthly by Hoosier State Press Association, 41 E. Washington St., Suite 301, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, (317) 803-4772. ISSN 0019-6711 USPS 058-730. Periodicals-class postage paid at Indianapolis, Ind., and at additional mailing office. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Indiana Publisher, 41 E. Washington St., Suite 301, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, (317) 803-4772, Fax (317) 624-4428 Website: www.hspa.com Subscriptions $25 per year. Ad rates furnished upon request. HSPA calendar Now Bicentennial series available for download at www.HSPAfoundation.org June 10 Advertising Contest deadline June 29 APME/HSPA Foundation Road Show for Reporters July 22 Pulliam Intern luncheon & multimedia presentations July 29 Better Newspaper Contest deadline Sept. 15-16 HSPA & Foundation Annual Conference + Advertising Awards Gala, Indianapolis Dec. 3 Newsroom Seminar + Awards, Indianapolis HSPA Foundation Board of Directors HSPA Foundation Officers HSPA Foundation Board of Directors HSPA Board of Directors HSPA Officers President: Chris White, The Times Media Co. Secretary/Treasurer: Chuck Wells, AIM Media Indiana HSPA Board Members John Haley, Pulaski County Journal (Winamac) Robyn McCloskey, Pharos-Tribune (Logansport) and Kokomo Tribune Greg Morris, IBJ Corp. Jon O'Bannon, The Corydon Democrat Pete Van Baalen, The Elkhart Truth President: Nancy Grossman, Leader Publishing Vice President: Michael J. Christman, Fort Wayne Newspapers Secretary: William "B.J." Riley, CNHI Treasurer: Jeff Rogers, AIM Media Indiana Curt Jacobs, The Madison Courier Barbara King, North Vernon Plain Dealer & Sun Patrick Lanman, Vevay Media Group Mayer Maloney, Hoosier Times Inc. Mark Miller, The News-Banner (Bluffton) Jack Pate, Evansville Courier & Press John Rumbach, The Herald (Jasper) By The Elkhart Truth Elkhart editor kept newsroom focused on serving community

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