The Sentinel, July 9

The (Carlisle) Sentinel names Hope Stephan executive editor

By Eric Harkreader
Of The Sentinel

A new set of hands is guiding The Sentinel's news coverage.

A Western Pennsylvania native who most recently oversaw day-to-day newsroom operations at the Times West Virginian in Fairmont, W.Va., has assumed the executive editor position at Cumberland County's daily paper.

"Most people think of an executive editor as the person who sets the direction and bearings of the newsroom," says Hope Stephan, 54. "But that's not a complete picture.

"I'm really the chief reader advocate. It's my job to determine who our readers are and what they want to read."

In addition to seeking the public's feedback, Stephan says she plans an active role in the community by attending public meetings, stopping by community events and soliciting speaking obligations.

"That's what a newspaper is, the glue that holds a community together," she says.

In an age where so much news is nationally driven, Stephan says she's committed to the local level of media coverage.

"None of us lives on a national level," she says.

Stephan replaces Carol Talley, who retired in May nearly 25 years after beginning as editor at The Sentinel.

While many readers may not realize it, Talley's length of tenure is something of an anomaly in the newspaper world, Stephan notes.

In deference to Talley's legacy, Stephan says she plans to be extra careful in settling in behind the wheel.

"She did an outstanding job here. I want to build on that," Stephan says, explaining that over the past decade, she recalls seeing The Sentinel win award after award. The Sentinel's numerous statewide honors include the designation of daily newspaper of the year by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association in 1995, 1996 and 2000.

And The Sentinel has won the association's annual "Sweepstakes" honors 13 times in the last 18 years for daily newspapers with a circulation of less than 20,000. More than 40 Pennsylvania papers compete for that honor, which goes to the publication winning the most hardware in the Keystone Press Awards program.

Stephan calls her predecessor's legacy "inspiring and motivating."

The new executive editor's early impressions of The Sentinel were a part -- but not all, she quickly adds -- of her decision to come to Cumberland County.

"I'm a Pennsylvanian, and while I'll always love Western Pennsylvania, this is a beautiful part of the state" that's growing in population and has deep-rooted historical significance, she says.

She admits to a fondness for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penn State's Nittany Lions.

"I'm really more of a Joe Paterno fan," she clarifies, praising the 79-year-old coach's accomplishments, including a virtually unchallengeable reputation as a ethical sportsman and his family's $250,000 donation to help fund a five-story university library addition.

Stephan warmly recalls her time spent in State College while pursuing a master's degree in English. She's also earned a bachelor's in secondary education from Slippery Rock University and, most recently, a master of business administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati.

She also spent a year overseas as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar, studying economics at the University of Surrey southwest of London.

Although a business background wasn't explicitly in the job description, Stephan's experience should help her balance news judgment with the financial framework upon which it's based, Sentinel Publisher Mark Blum says.

He says the way newspapers are run has shifted in recent years from a newsroom-driven philosophy to a "revenue-driven business model."

But Blum says he wants to make sure the shift doesn't go too far. "Our primary business is still that of providing both news and information that’s relevant and useful to our readers. We just have to make sure that we can do that in a profitable manner."

He adds that Stephan "brings a lot of relevant experience and strong management skills" to the newsroom.

In addition to editing the 13,000-circulation Times West Virginian and serving as publisher of the Punxsutawney Spirit, she worked as a managing editor for a book-publishing company in Cincinnati, as managing editor of the Journal-News of Hamilton, Ohio, as editor of the Meadville (Pa.) Tribune and in a number of roles ranging from reporter to assistant metro editor at the Tribune Chronicle of Warren, Ohio. She previously was a reporter for newspapers in Connellsville, Latrobe and Mount Pleasant, all in Pennsylvania.

As for her personal interests, Stephan just laughs. "I'm a newspaper editor," she says.

But in her spare time -- when there is any -- she enjoys reading, gardening and cooking despite protests that she's not as "domestic" as that sounds.

In fact, she says she's even more eager for an outdoors view of Cumberland County.

"My golf clubs have gotten a little bit dusty, and my bike tires have gotten a little flat," she says. But she expects to remedy both in the coming months.

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