News
THREE WELCH BOOKS DUE OUT THIS FALL
MARCH 1, 2012/EUGENE, ORE. — Readers who enjoy Bob Welch’s books will have three new options this fall, their different subjects mirroring the writer’s wide interests:
— Hiking Home: Waldo, Me & the Oregon PCT (Eugene: AO Creative) chronicles not only Welch’s 453-mile hiking of the Oregon portion of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2011, but the exploits of Judge John Waldo in the same Cascade range more than a century earlier.
— Resolve: From the Jungles of WWII Bataan, the Epic Story of a Soldier, a Flag, and a Promise Kept is due to be released in November by Penguin Publishers of New York. The hardback book is about Clay Conner Jr., who eluded the horrific Bataan Death March and, with a handful of fellow soldiers, survived for three years in the Philippine jungles, in part because of his building a partnership with a tribe of pygmy Negritos.
— Fifty-two Little Lessons from It’s a Wonderful Life offers nuggets of life wisdom from America’s favorite holiday movie. It’s due to be released in early September by Thomas Nelson of Nashville, Tenn.
WWII SERIES LAUDED BY EDITOR & PUBLISHER
MARCH 1, 2012/NEW YORK — The Register-Guard’s recent salute to local World War II veterans has been recognized by a national journalism publication.
Editor & Publisher magazine chose The Register-Guard as one of the “10 Newspapers That Do It Right” in its annual list of newspapers “that demonstrate flexibility, creativity, sound judgment and a commitment to high-quality journalism in some unique manner.”
To mark the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Register-Guard invited local WWII veterans to come to the newspaper to be photographed. The paper photographed and interviewed 130 vets. Their images and stories were printed over four days, Dec. 4-7, 2011.
“The response from readers was unlike anything I’ve seen in my 32 years in journalism,” Managing Editor Dave Baker told Editor & Publisher. “Over several weeks we received e-mails, letters to the editor, phone calls and comments praising the series. The portraits and stories are powerful, poignant tributes to these local heroes, and they resonated with our most loyal readers.”
Paul Carter, assistant director of graphics, took all the photos; columnist Bob Welch wrote all the stories; and Rob Romig, director of graphics, came up with the concept and handled the logistics of the project.
Editor & Publisher received hundreds of submissions for the list.
WELCH WINS ONPA’S ‘BEST-WRITING” CATEGORY
JULY 15, 2011/GEARHART, Ore. — Bob Welch has won the 2011 Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association contest’s “best writing” category, it was announced July 15 at the organization’s summer conference at Salishan. It was the second time Welch has won the category. To do so, he beat out entrants from the state’s largest papers, including The Oregonian.
Welch’s three entries were a Sunday front-page story, “Minutes of Wonderful,” about how personal tragedies had drawn together two former Sheldon High drama directors; a column in which a woman whose two daughters were murdered by her estranged husband offers Thanksgiving thanks for the support of the community; and a column about subbing for a son’s softball team in a game that feature an “all-Welch” grand slam homer.
The Register-Guard, for the second straight year, won the General Excellence award. Full story.
