News

Diocesan paper reaches golden jubilee

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

The North Wisconsin Catholic "The Official Paper for the Diocese of Green Bay." First published: May 17, 1890 Subsequent issues: None available. Library of Congress lists only one year of publication. Publisher: Bp. Frederick Katzer, third bishop of Green Bay, and Edward Casteele of De Pere. Subscriptions: $1.50 a year. First editorial: Besides asking for help to make the paper flourish, it also was concerned about saloons operating on Sundays. Contents: No photos, several ads -- including one for a 20-pound pail of jelly for 70 cents, the course of studies for diocesan schools as approved in 1889 and railroad schedules.

This may look like a normal newspaper -- but it's really golden.

This month, your diocesan newspaper celebrates its 50th anniversary.

On the feast of All Souls, Nov. 2, 1956, The Green Bay Register debuted, under the leadership of Fr. Orville Janssen. The founding publisher was Bp. Stanislaus Bona.

Yet even that paper had roots -- dating back to the last century.

The North Wisconsin Catholic

The first newspaper published in the Green Bay Diocese was the short lived North Wisconsin Catholic. It was first published on May 17, 1890 in De Pere and billed itself as "The Official Paper for the Diocese of Green Bay." The first edition, launched under Bp. Frederick Katzer -- third bishop of the diocese -- promised to be "a weekly family paper and advocate of the Catholic school."

Apparently it was not successful, since only one issue exists in the diocesan Archives and the Library of Congress only lists it as a publication during 1890.

The Green Bay Register

Over six decades passed before the next "Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Green Bay."

The first edition headline: "Bishop launches diocesan paper" announced The Register, part of the Register System, a Denver, Colo., group that handled the printing of several diocesan papers. Green Bay was the 35th diocese to join the chain. The paper was housed in the Diocesan Office Building on South Monroe Avenue, across from St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, after a short stint in the WBAY building, then owned by the Norbertine Community, at 113 S. Jefferson.

There were many congratulatory ads in that first edition of 20 pages -- including one from Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Records show that advertisers approached the paper to offer support. There were columns by priests and laymen (no laywomen), national, world and local news -- including a story about Auxiliary Bp. John Grellinger's convalescence from a recent auto accident.

	Special Section: Diocesan newspaper turns 50
	Only in the Print Edition ... Articles found only in the 12-page special section of the Nov. 3, 2006 Compass print edition: • High-flying Register takes aerial photos of all     church buildings • First editorial lays out purpose of the paper • The Spirit felt effects of Vatican II • Bp. Robert Morneau: Current paper carries on     a noble tradition • Circulation and advertising have always been     a concern • Early Compass told many faith stories • Bp. Robert Banks: Sometimes column     deadlines were tough Subscribe to print edition
	Related articles: from November 3, 2006 issue: • Editorial -- Celebrating 50 years     Diocesan newspaper finishes first half-century • Bridging the Gap by Bishop David Zubik --     Bridging the Gap: A mosaic of talents, work     Newspaper shows talents of many in events     of 50 years

Also included was political advertising for Dwight Eisenhower for president and Vernon Thompson for governor. Political cartoons were sprinkled in. There was an ad for a book about Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, called Medicine for Wildcat. The sainthood cause for Fr. Mazzuchelli, founder of the Sinsinawa (Wisconsin) Dominicans, is under way and he has been declared "Venerable."

In his first "Editorial Comment" column, Fr. Janssen explained The Register's purpose: "It exists not just to inform or to disseminate information; it exists also and even primarily to instruct. It is an instrument of the church founded by Christ to teach and therefore it must be to some extent a teacher in our world."

There were 15 counties and one Native American reservation (now Menominee County) to cover, and only three employees: Fr Janssen, Doris Stimart (secretary) and Ray Wanek, ad manager. So a group of free-lance writers and columnists were also used, which remains the case today.

The early Register was printed in two sections -- one contained local news, official announcements, parish notes and school sports coverage. The second section held world and national church news, as well as nationally syndicated columns -- including Bp. Fulton Sheen -- and a full comics page.

During its final year in 1970, The Register experimented with color. The center four-page feature -- Family Pages -- was printed on green paper.

For the centennial celebration of the Diocese in 1968, then-editor Fr. William Stengel produced a 72-page paper. It included aerial photos -- taken by Fr. Stengel -- of every building important to the Diocese -- 300, including every parish and school.

One of the last major features of The Register was a 40-page supplement on June 19, 1970 for the ordination of Mark Schmitt as auxiliary bishop.

The Spirit

The Register continued until September 1970, when it became clear that printing locally would be less expensive.

A "name the paper" contest resulted in a list of 130 names. The winner, suggested by Jeanette Huisman of Green Bay, was The Spirit.

Ties with the Register System ended, and The Spirit began as a weekly diocesan paper on Sept. 11, 1970.

The new paper was printed in Denmark, Wis., by Brown County Publishing (BCP). The relationship with BCP -- later called Wisconsin Web Offset - continued off and on until this year when their presses were sold. The Salvatorian Center in New Holstein handled early computer work for circulation and billing.

Bp. Aloysius Wycislo presented a vision of the new paper: "With this first issue of 'The Spirit' ... we embark upon a brave venture. ... So much is happening today, so much that is new and exciting in religion, that we need our own means of communication with all of you."

In keeping with that new beginning theme, the first issue ran a photo story visually explaining its new name: "In the Beginning God Created . . . and the Spirit of God Moved." The photos portrayed the first days of Genesis.

Bp. Wycislo was the new paper's president and publisher; Fr. William Stengel, who had been with the paper since 1957, was editor. (Fr. Janssen left The Register in 1966 to become founding pastor of St. Bernard Parish in Appleton.) Sue Kaufman was diocesan news editor, and Mary Goyish and Darlene Kronschnabel were composition editors.

The first issue -- also a broadsheet format -- ran 20 pages and had columns by several priests, including sociologist and novelist Fr. Andrew Greeley. Besides news, there was a Farm Page, Family Pages, book and movie reviews, comics and high school football schedules. It also had a story on the new New American Bible, "the first Catholic English translation of the entire text of the Old and New Testaments ... from the original languages of the Bible."

A main story of that first issue dealt with the funeral of Vince Lombardi. The former Green Bay Packer coach had helped initiate the Bishop's Charities Game in 1961.

Within a year, The Spirit was assisting in the composition of The Badger Bulletin -- a quarterly publication by the Wisconsin Knights of Columbus -- and The U.P Catholic -- the newspaper of the Marquette Diocese. A new editor, Reinhard Wessing, was named in 1971.

The additional work led Bp. Wycislo to create a diocesan communications department in 1971 and the paper's third editor -- Jim Alt -- was named. (Wessing, ordained a deacon in 1973, became director of the new department and general manager of the paper.)

The Spirit Magazine

Circulation has always been a concern. The original Register had a subscriber base that started at about 1/3 of the expected 20,000 home subscribers and with 13,000 in parish orders in 1956. The numbers went up in the later 1950s to a reported high of 56,000+ in 1966, but numbers declined steadily to a low of 23,145 in 1977. (There had been a brief surge when The Spirit started.)

To attract new subscribers, The Spirit newspaper was changed from a weekly format to a monthly magazine in October 1977. It was dubbed the "Green Bay Diocese Official Catholic family magazine," and sent to every Catholic household in the diocese -- 89,000 homes. (A pilot of the magazine had received favorable response in January 1977.)

Jim Alt became general manager/editor and Doug Landwehr was the news editor.

This magazine was divided into two major parts: one section called "Accent on the News;" and "Religious Education and Features." Since October is Respect Life month, special emphasis was given to pro-life articles in that first issue.

The magazine was a monumental undertaking, even by modern standards, because it was not really one magazine -- but several different magazines each month. Each magazine contained the same main body of The Spirit -- columns and national, state and diocesan new -- and four pages of regional news for each of six different regional issues.

"I did 72 pages a month, 12 pages per region," recalled Landwehr. "Each region got (essentially) a 'different' Spirit each month."

Such comprehensive coverage required a system of correspondents -- writers who, while not employees of the paper, covered a "regular beat" like big city reporters. That regional correspondent system continued into the late 1980s.

In The Spirit's premier issue, Bp. Wycislo explained the new format: "This issue of The Spirit marks the beginning of a new era of communications for our Green Bay diocese -- the first time we will be able to reach all our families each month."

Because it was such a large undertaking -- producing basically six magazines a month -- The Spirit magazine did not succeed.

"The concept seemed to work," said Alt, "but the added expense was not offset enough by the increased advertising income. So after the one-year trial period, it was decided to return to a weekly newspaper, to be printed by the Catholic Herald in Milwaukee."

Its last issue -- September 1978 -- was on the death of Pope Paul VI.

The Green Bay Catholic Compass

	Editors of the papers Fr. Orville Janssen (founding editor) -- 1956-1966 Fr. William Stengel -- 1966-1971 Dcn. Reinhard Wessing -- 1971-73 James Alt -- 1973-78 Fr. Steve Halbach -- 1978-1981 Doug Landwehr -- 1981-1987 Interim editor, Nancy Barthel -- Oct. 1987- April 1988 Richard Cain -- 1988-1989 Interim editor, Patricia Kasten -- May to August 1989 Tony Staley -- 1989-present

In the month between the last Spirit and the debut of The Compass, another pope had been elected -- and died. The Oct. 7, 1978 premiere of The Compass headlined the death of Pope John Paul I. It was a time of waiting, for the church -- since Pope John Paul II was not elected until Oct. 18 -- and for the new paper.

"Let us pray for Pope John Paul who, because of the marvels of modern communication, became instantly known and loved," Bp. Wycislo wrote on the front page, which included a full color photo of the late pope.

In his first column, Bp. Wycislo explained the paper's name -- which also explained its purpose:

"Sailors and boat people in our beautiful lake-studded area of Northeastern Wisconsin will understand why we chose to name our new diocesan paper The Compass. The implications of providing direction, education and steering a correct course in keeping with the teachings of the Church are obvious."

Then-Fr. Steven Halbach was the first Compass editor, Doug Landwehr was associate editor. The first issue's front page contained an extra bonus: a full-color picture to accompany the story on the death of Pope John Paul was not planned.

The pope had died on Sept. 28, less than one week before press time. The Compass was still printed by the letter press method, which required that all photos be engraved on lead plates. It was a time-consuming, artistic process. A color photo in that short amount of time would have been impossible. However, since the pope had only recently been elected, a color photo was already being prepared.

"We had sent that color photo to Milwaukee, a month earlier, when John Paul was consecrated," Landwehr said. "We had planned to do a one month follow-up on his reign, so we had the spot down and ready. ... Our first issue and we had a first response (with a color photo). And it was just a total -- very tragic -- accident."

The Compass was more regularly a black and white production. In the 1980s, a single color was added to the front page. Full color covers -- known as four-color processing -- did not become a regular feature until 1993.

The first issue still carried a column by Fr. Greeley, a few female columnists including Dolores Curran who continued until her retirement from writing in 1997, as well as news briefs, three editorials and a calendar of events. Also included was the first "True North" column by Bp. Wycislo. Bp. Wycislo had begun the tradition of a regular paper column upon his arrival in the diocese in 1968. His column in The Register/The Spirit was called "Talks with the Pastor" -- some of which were later published as a book.

The Compass offices were first in the diocesan office at 115 S. Monroe Avenue, but soon moved to the old St. Joseph Orphanage on the current diocesan grounds in Allouez along the Fox River. The Compass was the first office to move into the orphanage building -- which was used for some diocesan offices for a few years. And The Compass was the last office to move out of that building, which was torn down in 1981.

The Compass was relocated to the basement of Bona Hall, which had been a dormitory and was now being renovated since all the diocesan offices and departments (except Catholic Charities branch offices) were being relocated to one, central location.

The Compass was the only office to function in that dormitory during its renovation and functioned with computers draped in plastic to shield them from the dust.

In August 1985, The Compass changed its format to a tabloid. Today, the paper is produced entirely in-house on computers by three editors, one designer and a parttime proof reader. Printing is done in Kaukauna at Metro Graphics.

Over the past 50 years, the paper has won 64 Catholic Press Association awards, including seven for general excellence, as well as for best photo, front page, editorial, human interest feature, regular column (True North), Scripture column (Bp. Morneau), Spirituality column (Pat Kasten) and supplements. Editor Tony Staley has received eight awards for editorials.