Don Kirkland

Don Kirkland realized in elementary school that his future would revolve around the written word. His first newspaper job was with a small L.A.-area daily whose publisher demanded the kind of journalistic integrity that ultimately led him to be the admired press director for both a governor and a U.S. President. Don later was employed by Times-Mirror Corp. and, in Arizona, was executive editor of the Mesa Tribune after its purchase by a major East Coast chain. He founded Wrangler News 30 years ago and has dedicated his work to preserving the vital role of community newspapers.
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Hometown news: Mostly fun, sometimes challenging, once in a while scary

In case you think that we at Wrangler News live a life devoid of stress or even outright hazard once in a while, let us set the record straight. We don’t.

Move to high country becomes Call of the Wild

As summer announced its official arrival with a blistering 111 degrees, I recalled the question that has come up among us this time of year ever since we arrived from the beaches of Southern California almost four decades ago.

Do you love Wrangler News as much as we do? Here’s how you can help.

In other words, as we have said many times, we aren’t looking under rocks for headline-grabbing sensationalism.

My ‘impressions’ of newspapers in the 21st Century, and what we hope it means for you

To me, a newspaper will always be what the name says it is: News on paper.

New market ‘Sprouts’ in South Tempe

Opening day at the newest Sprouts location brought out hordes of Tempe residents eager for healthy-living choices. (Photo Wrangler News staff)

Where is my tough first newspaper editor when we need him?

Commentary . . . By Don Kirkland

A brief history of the difference between news and advertising. And why we don’t overlap them.

Going back once again to my days as a young reporter in L.A., I remember the barbed wire fence and machine-gun turrets that separated the advertising salespeople from those of us who comprised the news reporting staff.

With roots in their communities, newspapers still deliver

Once every month or so our mailbox holds a copy of the latest Editor & Publisher magazine, the U.S. newspaper industry’s bible that dates back to 1901 and, in my case, to the 1950s when I was a reporter for a couple of L.A.’s big dailies. I’ve skimmed the magazine’s pages for all those years but, admittedly, sometimes overlook it entirely.

Don Kirkland

Don Kirkland realized in elementary school that his future would revolve around the written word. His first newspaper job was with a small L.A.-area daily whose publisher demanded the kind of journalistic integrity that ultimately led him to be the admired press director for both a governor and a U.S. President. Don later was employed by Times-Mirror Corp. and, in Arizona, was executive editor of the Mesa Tribune after its purchase by a major East Coast chain. He founded Wrangler News 30 years ago and has dedicated his work to preserving the vital role of community newspapers.
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