2020 • Volume 49 Number 359 • $8 CONTRIBUTORS PUBLISHER WILLIAM H. FREIVOGEL job was at the Chicago Sun-Times. She was assigned a desk next William H. Freivogel is a former editorial page deputy editor for the St. to “Parson Larson” the religion reporter. Long after Day moved to Louis Post-Dispatch and contributes to St. Louis Public Radio. He is a California to work for AP, Roy Larson became McDermott’s hand-picked member of the Missouri Bar. successor as editor of The Chicago Reporter. Day was a consultant to the Reporter for four months in 2017-18, after taking a buyout from Columbia College Chicago. She now lives in Massachusetts. EDITOR JACKIE SPINNER Jackie Spinner is an Associate Professor at Columbia College in JACK GRONE Chicago; freelance independent journalist specializing on the Middle Jack Grone is editor of McPherson, an independent journalism start-up East; former Baghdad Bureau Chief Washington Post. based in St. Louis. He is a former reporter and editor for Dow Jones Newswires whose writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and DESIGN CHIEF ABBEY LA TOUR Barron’s. Follow him on Twitter at @McPherSTL. Abbey La Tour is a copy editor and paginator at for Paxton Media Group. La Tour is a graduate of SIUC where she studied journalism and CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN communication design. You can find her on Twitter @LaTourAbbey. Christopher Heimerman is a former editor of the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb, Illinois, and freelance journalist covering media practices in the ARTIST STEVE EDWARDS Midwest. He wrote the memoir “40,000 Steps” which details his war Steve Edwards is a professional artist at Steve Edwards Studio. with alcoholism and the marathon he ran after rehab. He lives in DeKalb. Follow him on Twitter @RunTopherRun. GJR FOUNDER CHARLES KLOTZER Charles Klotzer is the founder of the St. Louis Journalism Review. JAMES JANEGA James Janega is a former Chicago Tribune reporter and newsroom engagement manager. He now works in commercial real estate. STUDENT MANAGING EDITOR MENGLU LYU Menglu Lyu is a doctoral candidate at SIUC from the People’s Republic of China. Her research interests lie in the political economy of ZACHARY JARRELL communication. Zachary Jarrell is an Ohio-based correspondent who is majoring in journalism at the University of Cincinnati (UC). Along with his work at Gateway Journalism Review, he is a Staff Reporter at The News Record, ASSOCIATE EDITOR ENOLE DITSHEKO an independent student newspaper at UC, the editor and lead writer of The Enole Ditsheko is a doctoral student at SIUC, author of “Wrestling Blazing Chronicle newsletter and a freelance writer. Find him on Twitter @ Botswana Back from Khama”, a 2019 journalistic polemic about the jarrell_zach state of democracy in his homeland of Botswana. JEFF KLEINMAN ASSOCIATE EDITOR OLOLADE AFOLABI Jeff Kleinman is the day editor at the Miami Herald. In 2000, he was Ololade Afolabi is a PhD Candidate at SIUC where she is researching copy desk chief. international communications in the Global South. She is the social media editor for GJR. She is from Nigeria. SYDNEY SINKS Sydney Sinks studies journalism at Millikin University. She serves as the NANCY DAY news editor for The Decaturian, Millikin’s student newspaper, as well as A veteran journalist and professor, Nancy Day’s first Big City newspaper the co-editor-in-chief for BURST Magazine. Statement of ownership 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PUBLISHED BY: School of Journalism College of Mass Communication and 4 History and promise Media Arts H.D. Motyl Interim Dean of the St. Louis Journalism Jan Thompson, Director Review 28 The Chicago Reporter BOARD OF ADVISERS: Jim Kirchherr, Don Corrigan, 6 The volume of abruptly put ‘on hiatus,’ Lisa Bedian, Tammy Merrett, Rita Csapo-Sweet, Steve Perron, information exploded sparking vigorous protests, Eileen Duggan, Michael D. Sorkin, David P. Garino, Rick while accuracy has calls for re-opening Stoff, Ted Gest, Fred Sweet, William Greenblatt, Lynn diminished Venhaus, Daniel Hellinger, Robert 30 Throwback to A. Cohn, Michael E. Kahn, John Media personalities another close election: P. Dubinsky, Gerald Early, Paul 8 Schoomer, Moisy Shopper, Ray look back Florida editor reflects on Hartmann, Ken Solomon, Avis Meyer, Tom Engelhardt the difference between 12 Fifty years of The Gateway Journalism Review 2000 and 2020 GJR (USPS 738-450 ISSN: 0036- journalism in St. Louis – a 2972) is published quarterly, by Southern Illinois University timeline 31 Community news Carbondale, School of Journalism, outlets should build on College of Mass Communication 15 ‘Front Page’ to and Media Arts, a non-profit high voter turnout in entity. The office of publication is Ferguson — A memoir of SIUC School of Journalism, 1100 presidential election Lincoln Drive, Mail Code 6601, half a century of St. Louis Carbondale, IL 62901. journalism 32 Psuedo news outlets TO SUBSCRIBE: 618-536-3361 push false claims around gatewayjr.org/about 22 Unique KC Star, Post- Sign up for our weekly election newsletter at gatewayjr.org. Dispatch, News-Leader project on epidemic of 34 ‘Domestic terrorist’ SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Missouri gun deaths better term than ‘militia’ $20 — one year for Michigan style group, $35 — two years 25 Veteran journalist $45 — three years experts say uses blogging to connect Foreign subscriptions higher depending upon country. during pandemic 35 ‘When you get POSTMASTER: Please send between your readers and address changes to: 26 The Vidette, a Gateway Journalism Review a liar, the liar loses’ Amber Easton — School of standard-bearer of student Journalism journalism, stopping the 1100 Lincoln Drive, Mail Code 6601 presses Carbondale, IL 62901. Periodical postage paid at Carbondale, IL, and additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2020 by the Gateway Journalism Review. Indexed in the Alternative Press Index. Allow one month for address changes. 3 History and promise of the St. Louis Journalism Review by Charles L. Klotzer The birth of the modern journalism reviews in the United States by working journalists, which flourished during the late 1960s through the early 1980s, is encapsulated in one paragraph by Ron Dorfman, co-organizer of the first — the Chicago Journalism Review (CJR), now long defunct. “The Chicago Journalism Review was a product of the local newspaper coverage of the Democratic national convention (1968) and the violence that attended it in the streets of Chicago. When the convention was over and the national press had left town local editors proceeded, deliberately and shamelessly, to rewrite history in an effort to patch up Chicago’s reputation as ‘the city that works’.” Mayor Daley had marshalled an army of police to confront thousands of protesting students. Newspapers reported that the confrontation resulted in a student riot. Reporters, some of whom were also beaten up by police, knew it was a police riot. Dorfman recalls that newspapers told their readers that their own reporters had lied. Outraged, scores of reporters met, raised funds and published the first issue of the Charles and Rose Klotzer Chicago Journalism Review, the prototype for nearly 30 others which cropped up in cities Election Commission. The decision opened impetuous as it may sound. At the end of the and institutions around the United States. unlimited and unchecked spending for any century, the SJR remained the sole survivor of (The Chicago Journalism Review and other political cause in the media or through outside the privately published journalism reviews. Why journalism reviews and alternative newspapers avenues.) had it survived? We had decided many years are in a searchable collection at the SIUC In 1970, I invited a number of reporters before that there must be more to supporting library in the Charles L. Klotzer Freedom of the from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the St. good causes than simply belonging to the Press collection.) It was a time of excitement, Louis Globe-Democrat to meet. A number American Civil Liberties Union. confidence and rejuvenation. There was a of local reporters, including Ted Gest then a In 1962, we had started publishing a feeling that a better world was visible beyond. reporter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, had magazine called FOCUS/Midwest (F/M). also discussed the idea of a local journalism Before commencing publication, I consulted The birth of SJR review and had met with organizers of the scores of top publishers and political leaders The father of journalism reviews is Chicago Journalism Review. They joined with in the Midwest. Contact was easy because George Seldes, who founded In Fact in others in months of discussions and meetings, I was an organizer for the Stevenson-for- 1940. He revealed, among many other creating a core group of 20 members of the President campaign. Their advice was uniform, exposes, that tobacco causes cancer. And working press. small magazines cannot economically survive he revealed that the New York Times had an In September 1970, the first issue of the irrespective of the need they may fill. understanding with the tobacco industry that St. Louis Journalism Review (SJR) appeared. My wife, rather than pursue her social it would continue advertising as long as the Because we expected a strong reaction by the work career, worked with me for the next three paper would not be critical of tobacco. His Globe and Post, it was decided not to use any decades or more to keep all ventures afloat. publication folded after ten years, the victim of bylines. Nevertheless, 13 journalists — Robert Focus/Midwest, which lasted for 21 years until red-baiting and blacklisting. E. Adams, Margaret M. Carlan, Al Delugach, it was merged into SJR in 1983, took on the When I read the first issue of the Chicago Peter A. Donhowe, Ted Gest, Charles L. Klotzer, whole range of social, political, economic and Journalism Review, it struck me that here Richard Krantz, Gerald Lindhorst, Gus Lumpe, racial concerns that dominated the 1960s.