MONROE - Danny Markham was more than just the editor of the "Independent Register."
He was the face of the newspaper for many, many years.
He also was a leader in Brodhead. He promoted the community and its accomplishments, he spoke highly of living in Brodhead and he supported its schools and sports teams more than just about anyone else.
When he died Monday, Brodhead lost a good man.
As a young reporter, fresh out of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, I approached him for a job. I wanted to write and was told that a weekly paper was the best place to learn.
He took a chance and gave me a job. I covered school board meetings, city council meetings, high school sports and wrote features. If I had an idea about a feature story, I would bring the idea to him and he would say "yes" or "no." Usually, he gave me the go-ahead to do the story. I used to enjoy talking to him and just being around someone with so much journalism experience.
Danny was an old-fashioned editor. He wrote the paper, put the pages together and had total control of what was printed. He took pride in every issue. He commanded respect from his employees and from the rest of the community. Whether you saw him on the street, at church or at a sporting event, he would stop and talk to you. It seemed that he knew everyone and everyone knew him.
He would be an interesting character in a novel. He was a veteran newsman who worked long hours each week to make sure the news from his community was published for his loyal readers. It was his responsibility to publish the news. If someone disagreed with what was written, that was their prerogative.
I remember parents who were upset because their son was incorrectly identified in a sports photo. They said it ruined his season to see himself misidentified. Danny explained that mistakes happen, and told them he wouldn't put their son's name in the paper until it ran under his graduation photo. They quickly apologized and told Danny they were sorry to have bothered him.
He cared about the stories he wrote and explained to me that it was important to keep in mind that high school kids took part in sports, or musicals for that matter, because they wanted to. It was OK to be critical at times, but it was more important to remember that none of them were professionals, none were making millions of dollars and all of them were trying to have fun. When writing a high school football story, he said, try to put in as many names as possible. Kids love to see their names in their local paper. The same was true for track and cross country stories. Put in as many names as possible, he would tell me. Let the kids see their names, he said.
He also stood up for me as a reporter and it was a great feeling to have him in my corner. One time a group of people questioned if I could be objective to write a story because I knew the owners of a business that was coming to Brodhead. They wanted someone else to write the story.
Danny called me into his office and told me about it and then laughed and said not to worry.
"I trust you," he said.
You have no idea what that meant to a new reporter working on his first big story.
Thanks, Danny. Thanks for giving me a chance to learn how to be a reporter and thanks for being a friend.
- Brian Gray is a reporter at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at bgray@themonroetimes.com
He was the face of the newspaper for many, many years.
He also was a leader in Brodhead. He promoted the community and its accomplishments, he spoke highly of living in Brodhead and he supported its schools and sports teams more than just about anyone else.
When he died Monday, Brodhead lost a good man.
As a young reporter, fresh out of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, I approached him for a job. I wanted to write and was told that a weekly paper was the best place to learn.
He took a chance and gave me a job. I covered school board meetings, city council meetings, high school sports and wrote features. If I had an idea about a feature story, I would bring the idea to him and he would say "yes" or "no." Usually, he gave me the go-ahead to do the story. I used to enjoy talking to him and just being around someone with so much journalism experience.
Danny was an old-fashioned editor. He wrote the paper, put the pages together and had total control of what was printed. He took pride in every issue. He commanded respect from his employees and from the rest of the community. Whether you saw him on the street, at church or at a sporting event, he would stop and talk to you. It seemed that he knew everyone and everyone knew him.
He would be an interesting character in a novel. He was a veteran newsman who worked long hours each week to make sure the news from his community was published for his loyal readers. It was his responsibility to publish the news. If someone disagreed with what was written, that was their prerogative.
I remember parents who were upset because their son was incorrectly identified in a sports photo. They said it ruined his season to see himself misidentified. Danny explained that mistakes happen, and told them he wouldn't put their son's name in the paper until it ran under his graduation photo. They quickly apologized and told Danny they were sorry to have bothered him.
He cared about the stories he wrote and explained to me that it was important to keep in mind that high school kids took part in sports, or musicals for that matter, because they wanted to. It was OK to be critical at times, but it was more important to remember that none of them were professionals, none were making millions of dollars and all of them were trying to have fun. When writing a high school football story, he said, try to put in as many names as possible. Kids love to see their names in their local paper. The same was true for track and cross country stories. Put in as many names as possible, he would tell me. Let the kids see their names, he said.
He also stood up for me as a reporter and it was a great feeling to have him in my corner. One time a group of people questioned if I could be objective to write a story because I knew the owners of a business that was coming to Brodhead. They wanted someone else to write the story.
Danny called me into his office and told me about it and then laughed and said not to worry.
"I trust you," he said.
You have no idea what that meant to a new reporter working on his first big story.
Thanks, Danny. Thanks for giving me a chance to learn how to be a reporter and thanks for being a friend.
- Brian Gray is a reporter at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at bgray@themonroetimes.com
