Tuesday, May 22, 2007

More tributes to Jerry Kellar

(Updated to include Gene Padden's tribute from Electric City.)

Times Leader Publisher Richard Connor, former TLer Bill Savage, Scranton Times sportswriter Donnie Collins and Electric City Editor (and former TL sportswriter) Gene Padden all wrote nice pieces about Jerry Kellar, the Times Leader sportswriter who died a week ago at age 46.

  • Connor: Kellar's death reminds me of my plaque in the lobby

  • Savage: Good times on the road with Kellar back in the day

  • Collins: Kellar was a pro - and looked out for me

  • Padden: Kellar was a huge influence on me as a journalist
  • 29 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    He deserves every one of them.

    Anonymous said...

    Connor wrote,

    Like Kellar, Rose has been with the paper more than 20 years and is among a group of people still here now who helped keep this paper alive when its very existence was threatened by a strike. There were 20 members of this group and now there are 19. Kellar was like the rest of the group -- loyal and dedicated to the paper, our customers, and the community.

    I'm not a huge TL historian. What is this comment all about?

    Anonymous said...

    Connor's tribute seemed more about Connor than Jerry.

    Anonymous said...

    Yeah, he quickly turned it into a piece that was all about the plaque and himself

    Anonymous said...

    For 8:56:
    and I'll try to keep this brief ...
    Capital Cities bought the TL in 1978 and shortly thereafter broke the union. A strike ensued, during which the Voice was born.
    The TL's circulation dived precipitously though it obviously rebounded over time.
    I certainly don't want to disparage Jerry's memory, but if you do the math you find out he didn't start at the TL until a full 6 years after the strike. By that time, the TL was back on its feet; if anyone's existence was threatened then, it was the Voice's.

    Anonymous said...

    To the 8:56 poster, you are correct. Jerry started in the latter part of Connor's first reign over the TL.
    And to the 10:17 and 11:05 posters, I couldn't agree more. Any time Connor gets a chance to talk about himself he does (or puts a full page pix in of himself). What was suppose to be a tribute to Jerry was muddied by Connor's tribute to himself.

    Anonymous said...

    7:20 p.m. is right. Jerry deserves every story and column that's been written in his memory. How many other Scranton/Wilkes-Barre journalists would be heralded the same way...especially by competitors?

    Anonymous said...

    So will Connor write a correction?
    Or will he allow the myth to grow?
    Truth still matters.
    RIght?

    Anonymous said...

    Padden's column was by far the best tribute to Jerry. Why isn't it posted here for people to read.

    Anonymous said...

    I happen to like Padden. He's done a great job with Diamond City. Seven years ago Electric City was on life support, Gene got pushed out of the TL and went there. Since then, DC has had more pages and ads and is finally making money. What do you do? Write a few stories everyday. Not very challenging. Man up and give Padden credit where credit is due. If he stayed at the TL, Ec/DC would not be here right now.

    Anonymous said...

    Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Diamond City ads are all Scranton ads. Diamond City is the red-headed step child of the Times Shamrock empire -- like WYOU is to BRE.
    Nothing original, nothing provocative, nothing interesting.
    Just a big nothing.
    Sorry, but Diamond City just has no personality. It hasn't found its voice.

    Anonymous said...

    this was a thread about Jerry Kellar tributes, no?

    Anonymous said...

    This is Jerry from the grave: Thou shalt not like Gene Padden...oh, and pass the potato salad, will ya?

    Anonymous said...

    Regardless TT has built EC/DC into money making ventures when before EC was the smaller between it and the Weekender. Who cares where the ads are coming from, they're making $$. R.I.P. Jerry.

    Anonymous said...

    The point is, Electric City is pulling in the Scranton ads and Diamond City is along for the free ride. Regardless, The Weekender kicks both their asses in circulation and ad dollars. And yes, Jerry Kellar was a super great guy. I'll miss him.

    Anonymous said...

    Is Jerry still dead?

    Anonymous said...

    Is Padden still bald?

    Anonymous said...

    Is Padden still dry humping the chubby ad rep?

    Anonymous said...

    Jerry ain't dead. I saw him the other night over at Grotto laughing at the farce he pulled off to get out of that cruddy sportswriting job he had

    Anonymous said...

    You mean the MARRIED chubby ad rep?

    Anonymous said...

    Is Padden's paper still kicking the Weekender's ass???

    Anonymous said...

    Diamond City will never overtake the Weekender.... compare this week's editions against each other. If you want to go out and are looking for someplace to go, you pick up the Weekender. Period. Diamond City is a watered down version of Electric City. And yes, Padden is an asshole. The TL's garbage is the TT's treasure I guess.

    Anonymous said...

    Stop it. Everybody. I thought this thread was supposed to be about Jerry, and how he was admired and liked by other writers. Though not linked here on this site, The Weekender also did a tribute piece last week about his passing. The first simple post here is the best one: he deserves every one of them.

    Anonymous said...

    So, did they fill that Penn State beat yet

    Anonymous said...

    I still miss Jerry a lot. It's a different place w/out him around here.

    Anonymous said...

    Yeah da food don't go as fast

    Anonymous said...

    I realize this thread has long since become dormant, but let's clear up two things:

    1) Jerry was at the paper more than 20 years, but not only was he not at the TL during the worst days of the strike, he also wasn't full-time until about 2-3 years after he started there as a part-time phone person in 1984. The picketers had long since been banished by the time he got there. Connor didn't let the facts get in the way of his self-congratulatory column.

    2) The remark about great Padden's tribute was is stupid. It's pretty low to try to rank or compare tributes to a dead colleague. It's like saying The New York Times wrote a better obit of somebody than The Washington Post. And yes, Jerry definitely thought Padden was a little smart-ass suffering from small man's syndrome.

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