J-School dean subs as weekly editor

Jerry Brown

J-School Dean Jerry Brown spent a week in early July getting back to his roots in community journalism— he edited the July 8 issue of The Philipsburg Mail, helping publisher Brian Eder while editor Maureen Connor was on vacation.

That meant he not only edited stories, but wrote them as well. Brown's byline topped two front-page stories in the weekly newspaper out of Granite County. He also took photos and produced more stories for inside the 10-page issue.

"It was quite a three-day stand," said Brown after the week was over. "Embezzlement, tragic death, doctorless dilemma, wonderful elderly rancher (who is a book in himself, and I only had 45 minutes to interview him); and, by damn, I learned to use a digital camera."

Brown, who edited a weekly newspaper in Virginia before becoming an academic, also wrote a column for the paper about his stint there.

"[W]riting news from a small community is more difficult than reporting from the lofty perch of a big city paper," he wrote. "It requires more courage, more diplomacy, more knowledge of contexts."

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