Phil Haslanger -- contributing editor

The Capital Times  —  4/25/2008 12:17 pm

We're still trying to figure it out about Phil Haslanger. Few people get into the newspaper profession and after 35 years wind up being ordained a minister. Many folks are convinced that newspaper people are all headed the other way.

Perhaps, though, it was all foreshadowed by one of Phil's first reporting assignments. His first byline after joining the paper back in January of 1973 was on a story he covered involving Madison's then new and controversial chief of police, David Couper. After his successful law enforcement career, Couper, too, elected to join the ministry.

Phil started with The Capital Times fresh out of the UW-Madison. He excelled as a reporter in everything from covering Wisconsin politics to his favorite, the school beat, where his work is still held up as an example of how a beat ought to be covered. He left the paper during the newspaper strike in 1977, but returned when the strike was settled and in a short time was promoted to management.

He became an outstanding city editor, directing the coverage of local news. In 1984, he became our editorial page editor and went on to become president of the National Conference of Editorial Writers. In 1998, he became our managing editor, a position where his expertise as a journalist and his human compassion shined brightly these past several years.

Phil stepped down from that job in 2006 so that he could spend more time preparing for his ministry. Now, he will devote his full attention to his role as associate pastor at Memorial United Church of Christ in Fitchburg. But he'll stay in contact with us and our readers by coordinating a faith and values component to our new online service and weekly papers (www.madison.com/tct/blogs/faith). No one would be better suited for such a job.

Phil and his wife, Ellen, will continue to live in Madison, where they've raised four children.

From Dave Zweifel, editor emeritus

The Capital Times  —  4/25/2008 12:17 pm