Community Journalist Shares His Own Story
by Cynthia Ogorek
From Cockatoo to Legislator--
Community Journalist Shares His Own Story
by Cynthia Ogorek
Dennis Wheeler, editor of The Star newspaper in Chicago Heights,
and the featured speaker at IWPA's November 2004 meeting, reminisced about his
early days in journalism. His funniest interview involved a lady who said her
cockatoo could talk. He arrived at her home, the woman introduced him to the
bird and when asked to demonstrate its speaking abilities, she said to the bird,
"Budgy, budgy, budgy!" The bird replied, "Squawk, squawk, squawk!"
Wheeler graduated from Northwestern University, Evanston in 1961 with a teaching
certificate and a degree in journalism and taught at Bremen High School in Midlothian
for nine years. During his last three summers there, while freelancing for The
Star (Chicago Heights), he interviewed the cockatoo lady as well as people
like attorney and state legislator, Anthony Scariano of Park Forest, whom he
described as "one of the nicest and most charismatic guys I've ever met."
In the summer of 1970, Wheeler's boss at The Star asked if he'd be interested
in editing the Chicago Heights edition. Wheeler agreed and when it came time
to return to the classroom--now as the chair of the social studies department
at a brand new high school--he decided to stick with newspapers. He progressed
to features editor, then news editor. Over the years, he noted, he passed up
"bigger" opportunities in order to stay in and write about one of
the most interesting areas of the country.
Calling himself a "community journalist," Wheeler is now in charge
of the editorial page of The Star. He writes the editorials as well as
a column for one of the editions. Having your own column is an "ego trip
and a rush," he said, "because you get to write about whatever you
want to." But the theme must be local--he can write about Barack Obama,
but only in relation to his visits in the southern suburbs.
While taking questions from the floor, Wheeler commented on The Star's circulation
and publication schedules, editorializing in news articles and competing with
smaller local papers. Chances are still good, he said, for getting a start in
journalism at suburban and downstate papers and noted that there's still a lot
of on-the-job training or learn-by-doing no matter what technical training you
might have had in school. Everyone learns from everyone else in the newsroom.
A public historian, IWPA member Cynthia Ogorek works for the Matteson Historical Museum, Matteson, IL.