Missouri Press Association

09/23/2025

09/17/2025

Echo Menges, editor of the Edina Sentinel, represented MPA today at a Presiding Judges’ Education Committee meeting in Branson. The focus was on cameras in the court and reporters in the courtroom. Thank you, Echo, for making the long trip from northeast to southwest Missouri and sharing your expertise.

09/15/2025

Managing Editor Andale Gross was appointed Sept. 9 as The Kansas City Star’s next executive editor, He makes history as the first Black editor to lead the 145-year-old organization. Andale replaces Greg Farmer, who recently was named executive vice president at McClatchy Media. He has spent the past two-plus years as The Star’s managing editor. Before returning to Kansas City, Andale was the race and ethnicity editor at The Associated Press, based in Chicago. But his Missouri roots run deep. He grew up about 35 miles north of Columbia in Moberly, where he met Lisa, his high school sweetheart. Now married, they have two adult sons, Aja and Avery. Andale graduated from the University of Missouri journalism school, and his first job out of college was at The Star as a suburban reporter.

09/13/2025

Winners of the 2025 Missouri Press Better Newspaper Contest were announced Saturday afternoon, Sept. 13, in Wildwood as Missouri Press Association’s 159th Annual Convention concluded.

CONTEST WINNERS and JUDGES COMMENTS can be found on the Better Newspaper Contest page of www.mopress.com.

PHOTOS of contest winners will be available via Dropbox and a link can be found on the Association's website, www.mopress.com.

09/13/2025

We start this morning with a presentation by Don Corrigan and how newspaper people can use their reporting skills to write books on different topics.

09/13/2025

09/13/2025

Photos from the Newspaper Hall of Fame are coming, but the evening had a different form of excitement when the Wildwood Hotel’s fire alarms meant we had to evacuate.

Spirits of the MPA cadre remained high, even with the blaring of klaxons in the background and refreshments within sight but out of reach as they remained inside the building.

Will update after we learn the reason for the fire alarms!

09/12/2025

Following lunch and the business meeting, attendees heard from Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek, who talked about his philosophy and goals for the statewide office.

Dr. Colin Hitt with the PRiME Center at St. Louis University talked about the information available on Missouri’s K-12 education system and how journalists can use the data for their reporting.

09/12/2025

Bryan Chester, general manager of the Columbia Missourian, was elected president of the Missouri Press Association Friday, Sept. 12, during the 159th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Wildwood.

Chester has been with the Missourian since he joined the sales staff in 2008 and was promoted to advertising manager in 2013. In 2020, Chester was named general manager of the newspaper, which also serves as a working journalism lab for students at the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Keeping newspapers viable is important to Chester both for his work with the J-school and because of what newspapers represent to their communities.

“Newspapers provide a deeper connection to your community. I’ve lived in Columbia for over 20 years, but it wasn’t until I began working for the Missourian that I realized just how broad and diverse the area is,” Chester said. “The Missourian tuned me into things I would otherwise never discover.”

Learn more about Bryan and MPA's other 2026 officers and directors at MPA's website.

https://mopress.com/stories/missouri-press-association-elects-2026-officers-directors,39456

09/12/2025

Our lunch speaker is Dr. Elizabeth Eikmann, an expert on St. Louis history with Missouri Humanities. Eikmann’s presentation on St. Louis history covers some “unseen” aspects of the city, including a column about eligible bachelors, the “Cracker Castle” (look it up!), early photographers in St. Louis and the student-produced Prom Magazine.

09/12/2025

Jeremy Gulban of CherryRoad Media, which owns many publications in smaller Missouri markets, just finished speaking about his company’s efforts with revitalizing their community newspapers. Some things he touched on included CherryRoad’s measured approach to adopting new technology and how the local people at each newspaper are the face in the community.

Also speaking was Jackie Soptic, mayor of Trenton, who worked with Gulban and CherryRoad to launch a brand new publication, The Trenton Telegraph, after the previous newspaper was closed. The Telegraph’s first edition is this week.

09/12/2025

And now we’re learning about some of the interesting history of Route 66, which will turn 100 next year. Stay tuned to Missouri Press emails and our website, www.oppress.com, for more about the Association’s plans to mark the historic anniversary.

Also, meeting in Wildwood, we’re practically spending the 159th Annual Convention on the Mother Road!