Saturday, January 22, 2011

Recently retired rural reporters, w/80 years total experience, win Ky. community service award

Tonight, two longtime rural reporters who recently retired were presented a Kentucky Press Association award that usually goes to publishers. Bill Bartleman of Paducah and Herb Brock of Danville won the Lewis Owens Community Service Award, named for a Lexington Herald-Leader publisher who exemplified community service by a newspaper employee.

Bartleman, left, retired recently from The Paducah Sun after 39 years at the Paxton Media Group's hometown newspaper. He was Kentucky's longest-running legislative reporter, covering 34 sessions, and made a point to keep track of statewide politicians' visits to West Kentucky, a largely rural region that is closer to other states than the bulk of Kentucky and often feels left out. ("West Kentucky" is the term of choice in far Western Kentucky.) He has been active in community and church activities.

Brock, right, worked at The Advocate-Messenger before it was bought in the late 1970s by Schurz Communications of South Bend, Ind., and five years before that at the Cynthiana Democrat. He was a very versatile reporter and columnist, and helped start a regular political speaking in Danville for statewide candidates. But in presenting the award, Herald-Leader Editor Peter Baniak said Brock's proudest moment in his 36 years at the Danville paper may have been when his son David joined the small daily's staff two years ago.

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