We buried a major story in briefs this morning, the one where $1 million was donated to the university. That’s not chump change, folks. That’s a helluva endowment. This is a story worth at least the lead story on page 3. We received the press release Friday, meaning we could have spoken with key people through the weekend for a more fully developed story for this morning. The release had a pretty darned good angle (and a picture).
CHARLESTON – Harold and Lois Joseph’s decision to leave their estate to Eastern Illinois University was based primarily on their love for a woman who graduated from the institution more than a century ago.
Charleston resident Mary Coon Cottingham attended the opening of what was then Eastern Illinois State Normal School in 1899. A few years later, she began attending the teacher’s college, graduating in 1904.
Thirty-two years later, in 1936, Lois Cottingham – Mary’s daughter – also graduated from her mother’s alma mater.
Both women shared a fondness for writing. Although Lois was a math major, in training to teach, she worked on the staff of the student newspaper – the Eastern State News — where (according to the school’s yearbook) “her services (were) outstanding.”
We could have played off that angle or found another. Perhaps, that she was a DEN alum. (We also failed to cover Ted Gregory’s induction in to our journalism hall of fame, offering only a stand-alone picture and a short cutline.) We absolutely should have dug into the endowment story and given it the play it deserved.
October 23, 2007 at 6:22 pm |
I attended the check presentation on Friday for this gift. During the introduction and background to the Joseph’s it was mentioned that Lois had written for the school newspaper during her time at EIU. Perhaps a follow-up story could be written to further profile her.