Tom Grote

Tom Grote has been Publisher of The Star-News for almost 40 years.

He describes the paper as a local “property,” emphasizing the power of journalism as a record or journal of a community—its people, culture, and events. This does not ensure objectivity. Accuracy, balance, and fairness are the values of a paper. You may know about That One Thing where Tom is not objective, and he passionately relates why.

We consider people’s attitudes toward the media, often negative. Tom explains how unbiased journalism is a relatively recent value—perhaps our news is more accurate than we think.

Hear Tom hold forth on Letters to the Editor, the favorite story of his tenure, and the nitty gritty on how a local journal brings more value to a community than social media content.


We debate the pros and cons of print versus digital, and Tom shares his preference on how to receive the news, which may surprise you. He has some ideas about our responsibilities as well.

Get a sense of the wide-ranging breadth and life of a community—what our resident journalist chronicler must know, remember, and continually emphasize.

Special note: the podcast was recorded at CUB in March 2020 before Shelter in Place restrictions took place.