The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

By Claire Duquette - Special to The Daily News

Meredyth Albright remembers the first time she smelled ink and newsprint as a curious kindergartner. She had been invited to classmate Sue Lyke's birthday party and noticed their basement was wallpapered with newspapers - which the five year old found fascinating. She was shy, but overcame that shyness to ask lots of questions about those newspapers on the wall.

Sue's father, owner of the Ripon Commonwealth Press, was impressed by Albright's curiosity and invited told her parents to bring her over for a tour of the newspaper. They did, and on that visit ink got into Albright's blood, where it has run strong through a 26-year career at The Daily News.

Today Northwoods Media Holdings President and Daily News Publisher Greg Mellis announces Albright's departure to take a position at F & W Publications of Iola, where she will be a managing editor in the automotive and antiques division. "We wish her the best and celebrate her career at The Daily News and her ties in the community," Mellis said.

Northwoods Media, a subsidiary of BlueLine Media, purchased The Daily News in October, 2006. Albright's last day at The Daily News will be June 22.

"Coming from outside, it meant a lot to have someone as rooted in the community as Meredyth to depend on," Mellis said.

Albright said it was difficult to leave a newspaper she is proud of and a community she loves, but her new job will give her an opportunity to learn a new part of the publishing business and at the same time allow her to be closer to her mother, her sister, and her niece and nephew and be a larger part of their lives.

"Change is always good," she said with a smile. "I just change slower than everybody else."

A newspaper career

While smelling the ink at age 5 at the Ripon weekly newspaper may have piqued her interest in journalism, there was a lot of hard work involved in being a successful newspaperwoman.

There was a job in high school at the Commonwealth Press, pounding out one article on a manual typewriter each week. She wrote feature stories about outstanding high school students as well as more controversial pieces such as one on alcohol use by teens. There was her journalism major at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa where she was on the Clarke Courier staff for four years, serving as its editor in her senior year.

Straight out of college, Albright was hired by the Copper Island Sentinel of Calumet, Mich., a weekly newspaper in Upper Peninsula Michigan.

During her year there - where the dark bathroom in her apartment above a bank building served as the newspaper darkroom - she got a taste of newspaper basics before she was hired by The Daily News in November, 1980.

Dick Timmons of Rhinelander was Daily News publisher at the time. An editor early in her tenure was Rocky Barker, now an environmental reporter at The Idaho Statesman.

"I really enjoyed working with her," Barker said of Albright in a telephone interview. "She is a real institution in northern Wisconsin and especially Oneida County. "It's rare to have someone stay at newspaper as long as Meredyth did � it's going to be tough to replace her."

Barker said the Daily News staff of four worked hard to put out a paper.

"I couldn't have done it without Meredyth, she knew how to manage a newsroom even in her 20s - I never worried about leaving the newsroom in her hands.

She had good judgment and was cheerful- she could joust with the mayor and be nice. She could be friendly but still be tough and never backed off on important stories."

When Barker left the editor job in 1985, Timmons offered the position to Albright, a decision he never regretted.

"She had a strong interest in education reporting, health reporting and government, and became a strong advocate for the community," Timmons said.

"She was the impetus to get the paper behind a variety of community endeavors."

Timmons said Albright's devotion to The Daily News was apparent.

"You'd see her car there at 5:30 a.m. and back in at 10 p.m. at night," he said.

He said her involvement both with The Daily News and in community organizations proved her leadership ability.

"She has helped this community grow and now it's time for her to have an opportunity to grow," he said.

And there has been growth - Albright said a lot has changed at The Daily News during her career.

In 1980, there was far more time spent on "society" items such as fashion shows, home economist cooking demonstrations and visits to award ceremonies. Taking and processing photographs took far more time, and stories were written using typewriters.

Today, community events are still important, but more time is taken on writing stories putting those events in a larger context. Word processing is done on computers and digital cameras have put the darkroom out of business. The Daily News building has changed, and the press equipment has changed, allowing for greater use of color.

But most importantly, newspapers are about people.

Albright said the demographics of Rhinelander have changed over the past 26 years as Rhinelander shifts from primarily a manufacturing-based economy to a heavier mix of service and manufacturing, and the newspaper has adjusted with the community.

"Rhinelander has always had The Daily News," Meredyth said of the

125-year-old publication, which states its mission as "commitment to community."

"It's good for a community to have a daily newspaper," she said. "It links people, and continues to connect people as the community grows and changes."

Along with the newspaper, Albright herself grew, and found herself increasingly connected to the community she covered.

"I remember the first time I cried during an interview," she said. "I had always felt I needed to be an 'objective' reporter, an observer. But I did a story about a boy from Tomahawk who was a Muscular Dystrophy Association spokesperson.

His mother and I sat at her kitchen table and drank coffee. She started to cry, and it was the first time my guard really came down. I felt what she felt and I started crying. I felt as if I had jumped into her skin."

She also feels a strong connection with veterans when she writes stories about them.

"I always think as I am writing 'What freedoms would we have or not have if they hadn't done their jobs?'" she said. “Would I be able to write this story right now?"

And while some people may find the idea of regularly sitting through school board, city council and county board meetings tedious, Albright admires the people who serve on those boards and enjoys watching them mature as they grow in their public service roles.

While Albright is compassionate, she well understands the newspaper's watchdog role. She is proud of the fact The Daily News was willing to take legal action to stand up for the public's right to know about government actions that were kept under wraps.

In one instance The Daily News took legal action that forced a local school district to turn over records explaining why it was paying 18 months salary and benefits to an administrator that had been dismissed.

"It was expensive to do that," Albright said. "It cost $20,000, which is a lot for a newspaper our size."

In another instance the newspaper requested, and received, an attorney general's opinion that prompted the city to release the terms of an insurance settlement involving the city landfill.

While Albright managed legal battles, she also managed staff. Daily News staff reporter Heather Schaefer said in her case, Albright took someone "as green as they could possibly be" and taught her the news business.

"She's an excellent leader and teacher," Schaefer said. "She has a good perspective on the community, has really high standards, but still makes sure we have a fun time getting a serious job done.

"I know as long as I'm in this business I'll have her voice in my mind telling me how I can do things better."

Involvement in community

Matching Albright's commitment to The Daily News is her commitment to the community.

She has been active in Kiwanis, her church, St. Augustine's, the United Way, served on the Saint Mary's Hospital Foundation Board and more. She has co-chaired Relay for Life, served Thanksgiving dinners, organized county fair volunteers and still found time for book groups and cooking clubs.

"When Meredyth told me she was leaving, the first thing I thought was, 'Oh,man, we've got the county fair coming up," said Rhinelander Kiwanis President Ryan Hetland. "She takes care of that.

"The second thought, almost simultaneously was 'Oh, Taste of the Northwoods is coming in September, and Meredyth pretty much runs that. And then comes the Thanksgiving dinner and she leads that, too."

Hetland said her departure will be a "huge loss."

"If you polled 20 people (in Kiwanis) and asked who's in charge of different projects, the answer is that Meredyth is the 'go-to' person," he said.

Hetland said he has valued Albright's counsel, as she is a past Kiwanis president - having joined in 1991, when the Rhinelander club first allowed women to join � and trusts her guidance.

"I'm going to miss her," he said. "She's been a part of every project. Albright served with Bob Abel of Rhinelander in both Kiwanis and in the United Way.

Abel said he admires her organizational ability as a fund raiser and people organizer, whether as fund drive leader for United Way or as the "driving force" behind the Kiwanis Thanksgiving dinner.

Albright has been honored with the Hixson Fellowship Award, one of the highest honors given by the Kiwanis, an award given while Abel was club president.

"It was quite an operation to get her family up her without her knowing for a surprise," he recalled. "We had to hide them just about in the kitchen, but we managed."

Dr. Dorothy Skye first met Albright through health articles written for The Daily News and came to respect her "ethics, integrity and creativity." She admires her ability to cover "tough politics" thoroughly and objectively, and appreciated the stories she wrote about a physician exchange program Skye helped coordinate with south central Siberia. She trusted Albright enough to invite her along on an exchange, a trip that was a profound experience for Albright.

"I really appreciated her insights and perspective," Skye said. "She is such a genuine person and good ambassador."

Friend and fellow Kiwanian Mary Greico said she and Albright have "pulled their hair out together" a few times working on projects such as Taste of the Northwoods, where restaurants offer up samples of their wares to the public as fundraiser, but have remained friends.

"We've spent a lot of time in the kitchen together," she said, "whether at community meals or just as friends." Greico, part of a Albright's cooking club, noted Albright is an excellent cook, with a flair for appetizers.

"Whenever we have a gathering, we always ask Meredyth to bring the hors d'oeuvres," she said with a laugh. "She has a big heart for this community and is leaving big shoes to fill."

Contributions to craft

One person who has a great appreciation of Albright's skills as an editor is T. Lee Hughes, the recently retired Wisconsin Associated Press Chief of Bureau.

"She is the classic, quintessential community newspaper editor," Hughes said.

"She knows the community like the back of her hand and cares deeply about it. I have never seen an editor who worked as hard, cared more or was more dedicated to her profession and her community. I admire her greatly."

Hughes had high praise for Albright's willingness to push the newspaper to obtain information on behalf of the community, even when it required legal action.

"It's one thing when big metro newspapers do that, but really commendable when a small newspaper takes it on," he said.

Albright served on the Wisconsin Associated Press Executive Board and as that organization's president, and in those roles helped shape how Wisconsin news is covered, Hughes said. He said he appreciated her sharp wit, sense of humor and the fact she always remembered to take him out for his favorite frozen custard when he visited Rhinelander.

"Meredyth has extremely high stands for herself and the people who work for her," Hughes said. "Rhinelander is a better place because she has lived and worked there. Not many achievements are more important than that in life."

Claire Duquette is editor of The Daily Press, Ashland. She is privileged to know Meredyth Albright professionally and delighted to call her a friend.

Tell us what you think...

Comments »

Marjorie Smith wrote on Jun 27, 2007 4:01 PM:

" Meredyth has been a good friend to the community. She was very supportive to Spice of Life Theater as a promoter, audience member and performer. Enjoy the drinking water in central Wisconsin, it's some of the best anywhere! "

Good luck Meredyth wrote on Jun 13, 2007 8:00 PM:

" I appreciate what you have done for the community and for the coverage you have given to the YMCA of the Northwoods. I have also enjoyed working with you at the Relay for Life many years. Good luck to you and enjoy spending time with your family. Tracy Paquette "

Dianne Jacobson wrote on Jun 13, 2007 2:30 PM:

" This article about Meredyth leaving came as a real surprise. It's hard to imagine the Daily News without Meredyth as Editor. She has been an important contact during my 10 years at the Oneida County Department on Aging. During Meredyth's tenure she started the "Best Year's" monthly section which included articles and activities from the Dept. on Aging. We were indepted to Meredyth for her assistance and support of this section, and all of her other help with press releases on our programs. Best wishes to Meredyth as she moves on to her new position. Rhinelander's loss is certainly Iola's gain! Dianne Jacobson Director Oneida County Department on aging "

The comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rhinelander Daily News.