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Cole C. Campbell

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Norfolk State University Stanford University University of Alabama University of Nevada Reno University of North Carolina

Cole Campbell Obituary

A memorial service for Cole C. Campbell, who was dean of the journalism school at The University of Nevada-Reno, will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at The Alumni Center on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, where Campbell was a Morehead Scholar and editor of The Daily Tar Heel in the mid- 1970s. A reception at the Carolina Inn will follow.
Campbell died in an accident Friday in Reno when his vehicle hit an icy patch and overturned.
A journalist of national prominence, Campbell began his career at The Chapel Hill Newspaper, then at The News & Observer, where he became assistant city editor. His career took him into leadership roles at the Greensboro News and Record and the Virginian Pilot in Norfolk, where he became editor. He was editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch from 1996 to 2000, when he left to become a fellow at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He then worked with the Kettering Foundation before taking the helm of the journalism school in 2004.
Campbell was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University. He served on the Board of Visitors of the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama and at Norfolk State University and was active in a number of scholarly and professional organizations.
Survivors include: his wife, Catherine Werner; son, Clarke of eno; daughter, Claire of Brooklyn, NY; two sisters, Connie Brough of Vass, NC, and Cathy Campbell of Washington, DC.
Contributions may be made to: the Cole C. Campbell Professional Development Fund and sent to Speed Hallman, Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Affairs, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 123 Carroll Hall, Campus Box 3365, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3365.

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Published by The News & Observer on Jan. 11, 2007.

Memories and Condolences
for Cole Campbell

64 Entries

Kimberly Parker Powell

February 21, 2007

I met Cole during a 4-week Newspaper Management Development program at Northwestern. We became fast friends and I admired him deeply. His keen wit, intellect and charm were most impressive. He brought new light to a dull generation of journalists focused on getting the facts right and challenged them to get the right facts. I know he was a strong Christian man - fallible as are we all - but with a great heritage. And, now a great legacy. He will be sorely missed.

Meredith Barkley

January 30, 2007

Many years ago when we both worked for the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C. Cole sent me out to cover a bear wrestling event. This wasn't sport. It was a lumber company promotion.
His last words before I headed out: "Don't come back unless you've wrestled the bear."
"You're joking, right?"
He wasn't joking.
So I went home, changed clothes, headed to the event and stepped into the ring with that bear. He was big. Huge, in fact. And he got even bigger the closer I got to him.
After surviving a minute or so, the trainer pulled the beast off and I scampered out of the ring.
Later, as I was finishing a 20-inch version of the mauling for the next day's paper, a higher ranking editor came by, looked over my shoulders, rolled his eyes and killed the story.
"You're selling lumber," he said.
"You gotta be kidding!" I protested.
He wasn't kidding.
When Cole found out about it he went to the mat for me. He argued with the other editor. He argued himself blue in the face in the budget meeting. He kept arguing after the budget meeting.
It did no good.
He made a copy of the story and kept trying for three or four weeks to get it in the paper. He never did. But I never forgot that. And I always admired and appreciated him for taking that stand.
Cole was a true friend and brilliant editor. He'll be greatly missed.

Hannah Rives Menektos

January 25, 2007

Connie and Cathy, you may not remember me from Pulaski, but I have great memories of you and Cole, E.Y.C. and "Father John". My sincere condolences for your loss. He will be missed greatly in this community.

Kliff Kuehl

January 25, 2007

I consider myself lucky to have known Cole, and KNPB was honored to have him serve on our Board of Trustees. Every interaction with Cole was fun, educational and thought-provoking. He will be missed.

Patricia Romney

January 24, 2007

Our heartfelt sympathies go out to you and your family at this time of loss. Cole has left a legacy of Integrity for his family,students, and Colleagues. His presence will be greatly missed by all.

William Bailey

January 24, 2007

We were so sorry to hear of your loss. The thoughts of many are with you at this time of sorrow.

Lezli Smith

January 24, 2007

My thoughts are with you.

Bob Blesse

January 23, 2007

My wife Vicki and I want to express our sincere condolences to Cole's family. We both knew Cole and our prayers have been with you during this tragic and difficult time.

I am the director of the Black Rock Press. A few years ago I received a call from a man who was interested in purchasing a book we had published called "A Constant Conversation" by former UNR President Joe Crowley. A asked him why he was interested in it and he told me he was applying for the position of dean of the Reynolds School of Journalism and wanted to read a book by the university’s former President—I was impressed. Of course it was Cole, and he stopped by after he got the job to thank me for sending him the book.

I got to know Cole better after seeing and talking with him at various events, both within and outside the university. Most recently, he asked us to produce a handprinted broadside honoring Robert Laxalt, who is being honored by the J-School this year on the anniversary of his book “Sweet Promised Land.” He was quick to call and thank us for producing this for them and to tell us what a hit it was at the reception, when everyone in attendance received a copy.

I’ve been at UNR for more that twenty-five years and I can honestly say I think Cole was one of the finest deans we’ve ever had. He was an outstanding individual who took the challenge of running an academic school and began to make significant changes from the day he started. He was admired greatly and will remain in our hearts and memory for many, many years to come.

-- Bob Blesse

Avis Schricker

January 22, 2007

Cole,
You were the most intelligent and enlightned person I have ever had the chance to know. You brightened a room with your wonderful sense of humor and wit. We will miss you and our thoughts and prayers are for your dear family. God keep you.

Sallie Clotfelter

January 13, 2007

Cole was a good friend to my husband, Jim, and me while he lived in Greensboro (part of that time, in our garage apartment). In addition to fun times together, I benefited from his, often irrepressible, counsel at the News & Record, where he and I both worked. We also enjoyed following the career of his daughter, Claire, first as a persuasive peddler of Girl Scout cookies, later as an outstanding scholar at Chapel Hill and beyond! We hope she will always remember that her Dad loved her and was devoted to her from the time she was a wee babe sleeping in a box under his desk in the Raleigh newsroom, and know that he was justifiably proud of the woman she grew up to be.

Edley Sadler Weiler

January 12, 2007

For Connie and Cathy, I am so sorry for the loss of your brother. I have many warm and humorous memories of you guys when we were all growing up in Pulaski. Phil especially knew Cole and has great memories of him. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Bob Benson

January 11, 2007

After reading these tributes, I can't imagine adding anything. I was his publisher in Greensboro and Norfolk. I remember the times he came into my office with some outrageous, unworkable idea to change something we had been doing for decades. Almost immediately,I was convinced of the wisdom of his plan. There was that happy face grin with a scraggly beard as he left; having won again. I never loved or respected any man more than Cole Campbell. I have never been more saddened by our loss.

Phil Sadler

January 11, 2007

This may be a bit long, but I wanted to share a true story that happened in the late sixties regarding Cole.

He and I were in the same first grade class together in southwestern Virginia. We were friends for several years in our early adolescence.

Although I am not a journalist, my late aunt and uncle were. I used to visit them in the summers at their house in Georgetown, D.C.

I invited Cole up to DC a couple of times to visit them with me. I never knew Cole would end up being a great journalist, we just went up and hung out a couple of times in the summer.

My uncle was the theatre critic for the Washington Post, Richard L. Coe, and my aunt, Christine Sadler, was also a former Post staff writer, although she had retired at the time of our visits.

I remember my Uncle Richard taking a liking to Cole, and it was if, to me, “who the heck was I, and who was this interesting young kid you brought to visit?”

Although I have not seen or talked to Cole since he left in mid-high school, I often wanted to ask him if he remembered the “guess who’s coming to dinner” story.

My aunt told us we were having company for dinner one night, so we were there on time.

In comes this young girl, right after HS, or a year later. She was dating a WP staff writer. She worked on “the hill” for a congressman from New Jersey. She looked like a hippie that had cleaned up for dinner. She was tall, very beautiful, and a bit precocious. Cole and I were both mesmerized. We were both younger, and we both joked after she left about her weird name, and how she brought something called baklava and how she went into the kitchen to make banana daiquiris. Did anyone speak English here we thought?

Before she left that night, she told us to come up to meet her at work and we would go out somewhere, maybe to Georgetown.

We were up there the next day in a flash, and we could not find her. I could kick myself to this day.

I often wondered in later years if Cole ever met her again : Sigourney Weaver.

Who knew?

God bless Cole.

Lisa Mickey

January 11, 2007

I was a young reporter at the Greensboro News & Record and I remember Cole scolding me one day for hyphenating words ending with L-Y. Funny, but 20-some years later, every time I write about a slowly rolling putt or a squarely struck sand wedge, I think of the "Campbell rule" and write it right. He was a brilliant man and a true leader in the profession. Most of all, he was a teacher who wanted to make those around him better. That was his gift to us.

Bill Pitzer

January 11, 2007

I'm so sorry for your loss, but also happy that I had the opportunity to know and work with Cole. Cole was a great supporter and mentor to me during our years together in Norfolk. I was most proud about the innovation team he included me on. I've been on a journey of innovation ever since.

Victoria Ann Farber

January 10, 2007

I met Cole Campbell for the first time in October when I went back for the Homecoming Luncheon. I was shocked to hear of his passing and wish each member of his family, the faculty, staff and students of the J-school my sympathies and condolences.

Douglass Davidoff

January 10, 2007

I remmber Cole in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Raleigh, days of bushy brown hair, big glasses, bushier beard -- and a head and huge heart that were absolutely true to daily journalism, the readers, and truth itself. His standards were the highest. He may be labeled a renegade, but to me there are few people who have more ably directed writers to the best traditions of American journalism. I'm not sure if Cole moved away from the American journalism mainstream. I think the mainstream moved away from Cole; he called for it to come back home. He was on this from the beginning, and he was right from the start.

Kathryn Hopper

January 10, 2007

So many folks have said it already – brilliant, funny, one of the best damn editors I’ve ever worked with.
I remember watching him edit my stories at the Greensboro News & Record. He’d prop the keyboard on his knees, stroke his beard and then the furious typing would begin.
Cole was tough but always made any story a better read and made any reporter lucky enough to work with him a better writer.
I wish he could have touched many more.

Brian Stallcop

January 9, 2007

Cole's courage, trust and encouragement made it possible for me change career tracks midstream. When we first met, I was a picture editor. After four years of Cole's mentoring and coaching, I became the managing editor and ultimately editor of a daily newspaper. Even after I left the business, Cole made it a point to stay in touch. In October I was lucky enough to spend the night at his home in Reno. We were up well past midnight, sharing memories and arguing about the future of journalism. The next morning, he was just another happy dad in sweats, cuddling with Clarke on the couch while Catherine made breakfast. I think that's the memory I'll always hold dearest.

Warren Lerude

January 9, 2007

Cole's spirit will remain with us as a personal friend and as a friend of creative and thoughtful journalism and, most importantly, as a friend in the warmth of our families.

Greg Smith

January 9, 2007

Thank you for your encouragement. I'm sorry we never got to meet, Cole.

Abbey Smith

January 9, 2007

Cole changed my life. Through his leadership I came to understand discussions, decisions and democracy in new way. He shared a capacity for hope, resilientness and insight in the face of complex problems that I will carry with me. I remember most his impish smile and his hands upheld in front of him to indicate his cohort-famous phrase "range of permission." I am honored to have been his student.

Bob Lynn

January 9, 2007

During Cole's tenure at The Virginian-Pilot I was the assistant managing editor for graphics. I will always appreciate Cole's enthusiastic support of our photographic efforts. He never failed to let others know how important the Pilot's photography was to the paper's overall success.
Thanks Cole. Our profession will miss you.

Cristian Rojas-Lazic

January 9, 2007

I would like to express my condolences to Mr. Campbell's family. Although I never spent hours talking to Cole he instilled in me the idea of Citizen Journalism as never someone did. He will be a source of inspiration for me and many to come, and I am truly grateful for the opportunities I did have to listen to him.

David Rigby

January 9, 2007

I knew Cole in high school. A really great guy. Brilliant, funny, warm.

Ira Gostin

January 9, 2007

Cole Campbell inspired me. He inspired me to be a better teacher, a better journalist and a better citizen. I write this, half-way through graduate school, and wonder of I would have undertaken this without Cole’s encouragement. Cole was passionate about photojournalism and storytelling and it was evident in his support. We had many a great conversation about the visual world. Vaya con dios Cole, we will miss you.

Jane M. Bell

January 8, 2007

To Cole's family: Please accept my sincere sympathy in your tragic loss. Your husband, brother, and father was such a fine contributor to society. I did not have the privilege of knowing him as an adult but remember him very well as a classmate of mine in Pulaski, Virginia during the mid-60s in 7th & 8th grades. We all enjoyed him, especially all his pranks and cutting up--I can remember some of the funny things he did like they happened yesterday. I was so glad to read that he went on to assist many students in his professional life. Again, I'm thinking of you and am trusting that God will give you the strength you need in the coming days.

Elaine Casey

January 8, 2007

I will miss you and your enduring smile.

Ralph Toddre

January 8, 2007

He was a good man. A man of his word, and was very passionate about his work. I will miss working on our projects. He really had the J School on the right track. He will be missed.

John Haile

January 8, 2007

Cole lived life on the intellectual edge, never really “playing it safe.” He made things exciting, and maybe a little scary at times. He was such fun to talk with, so stimulating in his willingness to challenge convention. What a mix of passion and intellect! Journalism has too few like Cole to lose him so tragically.

Ann Applegate

January 8, 2007

Cole Campbell was a brilliant editor and educator, but it was always his huge heart that made me admire him most. What a tragic loss. I'm sorry for all of us left behind.

joe yates

January 8, 2007

Cole and I went to high school together and lost touch after college. Though many years have passed, I still see his smile and hear his laughter and have many fond memories of a fine man. We've lost one of the very good ones.

Susan Dons

January 8, 2007

I had the opportunity to work for Dean Campbell at the Reynolds School. He was a very caring individual and he will be missed.

Howard Troxler

January 8, 2007

My fellow Chapel Hill and News & Observer alum Cole hired me 26 years ago as a kid reporter when he was still the young editor of a magazine in North Carolina. He was brilliant, crazy, eclectic, dedicated and, did I mention, brilliant. We crossed paths over the years and I followed his career with great interest. I did not agree with all his approaches, but was always profoundly thankful that he was out there somewhere re-thinking our profession.

Kate Grey

January 8, 2007

I'll always remember how Cole struck me as a father. Cole was very active with Clarke when he was an infant – holding him, tending to him, giving him what seemed to be undivided attention, even though Cole was interacting with other adults at the same time. Not every dad is like that with an infant. I have a memory of Cole carrying Clarke on his chest in a infant carrier to a Journalism event, both of them sporting baseball caps.

Cole was special in many ways, and I sure Clarke will learn about many of his professional achievements as he gets older. I hope that those close to Clarke will also share that his father showed him a special, passionate form of parental devotion and love.

Steven Ross

January 8, 2007

This isn't fair -- not to Cole's family, not to his students and faculty, and not to the profession. Cole was an original thinker in an industry that seems shorn of originality at the moment. He was an analytical thinker, in a field that has far too few. But most importantly, he was an enthusiast -- for life, for storytelling, for serving local newsreaders.

He was both a kid and a grown-up when it came to talking about the business, and the business of being a dean. By that, I mean that he recognized the downs but he emphasized the ups.

I was priviledged to know him, to consult for him in St. Louis, and to absorb his ideas. We all were.

This is simply unfair.

Jan Schaffer

January 8, 2007

Cole was passionate, provocative and so very intelligent. He was innovative long before the Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism were even envisioned. And, like so many civic journalists, he was 15 years ahead of the times. He pursued a course that was often lonely, even ridiculed, albeit grounded in core beliefs. Validation of his beliefs is long overdue. How sad, though, that it had to come in such a tragic setting.

Jody Calendar

January 8, 2007

Cole was a wizard, a professor, a "madman" who knew how to break through institutional stumbling blocks and someone who always challenged us to take risks and learn from mistakes. He was welcoming and whimsical as well as creative. God bless him and his contributions to journalism. My most sincere condolences to his family.

Chris Cobler

January 8, 2007

I had the privilege of knowing Cole through the Reynolds Foundation and through our company's work with the University of Nevada-Reno. Most recently, he popped in to say hello to journalists we were training at UNR's state-of-the-art multimedia lab. Cole's loss will be felt by all journalists. My deepest condolences to his family.

Al Cross

January 8, 2007

Cole was one of the most visionary editors and journalism educators of his time, and always an inspiration. His last conversations with us were during a Journalism and Democracy Workshop held by the Kettering Foundation in Dayton in 2005. A discussion leader, he said media outlets should sponsor public forums as a method of inquiry, aimed not just at letting citizens vent, but to come up with solutions -- to help generate knowledge, not just distribute it. That level of journalistic engagement in public deliberation was controversial, but for us civic journalism is just one way of institutionalizing the interaction that journalists should have with their readers, viewers and listeners, and helping communities address issues in a democratic manner. His most inspirational quote for me at that session was this rhyme: "There's no gridlock on the high road; no traffic jams, no backups, no delays. If you choose to drive upon the high road, you can drive without distraction -- for days!"

Byron McCauley

January 8, 2007

Cole gave me my first (and so for only)"average" annual evaluation at Greensboro. I objected, of course, but it made me work to become a better journalist. RIP, Cole.

Ed Williams

January 8, 2007

As a young reporter in Greensboro, I had the privilege of working for Cole. While he was not my direct supervisor, he was always lurking about on my weekenders and projects.
A praise note from him energized me for months. When he wasn't happy with my effort, I'd stay mad at myself for months. In nearly every instance, his critique was on target - even if I didn't fully appreciate it at the time.
We reporters joked that an edit from Cole was like getting a barium enema and root canal at the same time. But our reporting was always better for it. We were better journalists for it. And our readers and community were better for it as well.
Cole was a blessing to the News & Record newsroom and the Greensboro community.

Janet Weaver

January 8, 2007

Much has been said about Cole's intellect, and Lord knows he had the sharpest, most inquisitive mind I've ever been around. But I will always remember him for the poetry in his soul. When I became a deputy managing editor for the first time, Cole gave me a ship's prism and told me to throw light on the newsroom and on the world. I still keep it on my desk as a reminder of what my calling is in this job. When Cole believed in you, his support was complete, unconditional, enthusiastic. I will miss being challenged by his mind, but it the loss of that strong and kind heart that leaves the greater hole.

Latishia Williams

January 8, 2007

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

Dennis Hetzel

January 8, 2007

Cole made a big difference in my professional life, starting back when we were all "young Turks" at APME & ASNE. As others have said, he was a visionary who had an uncanny ability to get you to think in fresh ways. And he was always supportive, positive and hopeful. That was needed then, and it's needed even more now. Thanks, Cole, for all you've done and for caring so much.

Phil Bronstein

January 7, 2007

Cole was a superbly creative, elegant and eloquent insurrectionist in our profession long before panic and the requirements of culture herded the rest of us there. In what little time I spent with Cole I found him to be refreshingly unsanctimonious for someone so damn smart.

Deidre Pike

January 7, 2007

In early December, I had a conversation with Cole. I tried to convince him not to sing "This Little Light of Mine" with the graduating seniors as he had with the spring class. I failed to change his mind. We sang. A truly memorable experience for faculty, students and parents. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Jean Trumbo

January 7, 2007

Cole was such a wonderful person, first and foremost. He had not an ounce of malice in his heart — which is always a good thing in a Dean or in an editor. He was funny, smarter than anyone I've ever met, and his good nature and big ideas filled a room. He could be exhausting, but in the same kind of way that running a marathon is when the crowd is on your side and you've been coached by the best. What a lovely person! And, how sad we are to lose him.
Cole has passed on to join so many others in a giant think-tank, and I hope God is ready for all of this unbridled enthusiasm.

Diane Bacha

January 7, 2007

What a loss. I'll always equate Cole with energy, vision and a way of inspiring possibilities that might not occur to the average soul. I met him when he was editor in Norfolk, and speaking to a group of managers about realizing a staff's potential to its fullest. The lessons I took away guided me countless times.

Gil Thelen (University of South Florida)

January 7, 2007

Cole was always at the head of the parade of new ideas in our craft. He thought and wrote with passion and precision. Cole acted with daring. He was determined to bring down every barrier to change, immediately. I treasure memories of walking with him, and learning from him, about the relationship of journalism to public life. I miss him profoundly. My deepest condolences to Katherine.

Nancy Pate

January 6, 2007

I was at Chapel Hill with Cole, and stayed in touch off and on during his stellar career. He will be greatly missed by his colleagues and friends near and far. My sympathy to his family and to the university. Cole was one of the good guys.

Len Strazewski

January 6, 2007

Cole seemed to be a kind and thoughtful gentleman as well an excellent journalist. A year or so ago, he was kind enough to join me for lunch in Reno when I was visiting friends and gave me the full tour of the his school. I was particularly impressed with his vision and plans for a graduate program and as our interests in civic journalism dovetailed, I was looking forward to working with him.

Len Strazewski
Coordinator of Computer-Assisted Reporting/New Media
Columbia College Chciago

Carl Sessions Stepp

January 6, 2007

I once called Cole and began, "I'd like to ask you for a favor." He replied, "Yes." I said, "But you haven't heard what it is." He laughed: "Yes, anyway." Cole was special, a generous, wizardly full presence. Almost every conversation with him made you both think and smile. What a gift. And what a tragedy. God bless Cole and his family.

Kathy Campbell

January 6, 2007

We share a last name, but I could not prove I was a long-lost relative--although I tried mightily just to have a claim on Cole's intellect, integrity and accomplishments. To Catherine and his family, my deepest sympathies. We shall all miss him terribly.

Forrest Brown

January 6, 2007

Cole will rightly be remembered for his journalism contributions. But right now, I'm playing my CD of The Pretenders and recalling a night back in Greensboro, oh about 18 years ago, give or take one or two. Specifically, I remember the look of studied amusement on his face as he watched some of us party guests gleefully take over what must have been a sunroom, crank my up this same CD I'm playing right now and dance ourselves into a frenzy.

Jon Christensen

January 6, 2007

I worked with Cole last summer in the new experiment in environmental journalism and democracy that he was championing at the University of Nevada, Reno, which was based on an intimate engagement with the communities around Lake Tahoe. My heart goes out to Cole's family and all of his other colleagues and students and friends in the communities where he worked. Cole was the among the very best and brightest I have ever known in journalism. It feels like something very important about the possibilities of the future has just gone out of my life and our lives and the work and people and places we care about. I am now devastated. But it was a great privilege and honor to work with Cole, and the challenge he gave to us will be with me forever.

Rob Logan

January 6, 2007

Cole loved science and biomedicine and was sincerely interested in increasing public understanding and dialogue. His leadership and vision will be missed.

Barbara Iverson

January 6, 2007

What a sad loss. Cole was so smart and witty. I never got to work with Cole, but I can recall plenty of meetings and conference sessions where Cole's remarks woke everybody up and got the discussion going.He will be missed.

Bob Steele

January 6, 2007

I'll remember Cole Campbell as a man of principle and passion. He cared deeply about journalism and the role of journalism in society. And oh how Cole loved books! He literally surrounded himself with stacks of books during his time at Poynter, and he read with curiosity and joy. We have many good memories of this fine, bright, witty man as we mourne his passing.

Leonard Witt

January 6, 2007

As I mentioned in my tribute at PJNet, Cole was a mentor and friend, and someone whose ideas have transformed the way I and many others think about journalism. His keen insights, intellectual power, and friendship will be deeply missed.

Nora Paul

January 5, 2007

A conversation with Cole always made my head hurt - he was so damn smart, and challenging, and passionate about whatever he was discussing. I was excited that he had turned his visionary thinking to journalism education and while his ideas riled people (so, what was new in that?) they were, as always, challenging the status quo thinking and that is always a good thing. Thank you for all your efforts here, Cole. Watch out Heaven --- Cole's got some big ideas for you...

Dorothy Bland

January 5, 2007

Cole was a well-respected journalist, editor and journalism dean.

Thank you for your many contributions to our industry.

With deepest sympathy,

Jim Naughton

January 5, 2007

Cole's adventurous spirit and keen intellect were invaluable elements of journalism's fitful debate about the future -- even for those of us who didn't always agree with him. Cole's untimely death is a tragedy for Katherine and their newborn and a loss for all of us.

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