On the passing of our friend and former chapter president Duren Cheek

I know that all of us in the Middle Tennessee Pro Chapter of SPJ are sad to hear of the passing of our dear friend and former chapter president Duren Cheek.

It was a privilege to have known Duren and worked with him at The Tennessean, where for many years he was a top political reporter. But before he came to the paper, he worked for many years at United Press International in its heyday.

You can read a more thorough accounting of Duren's UPI career written by his friend and UPI comrade Jim East at this link.

Duren was an early president of this chapter, a participant in many years of Gridiron shows, and launched the chapter's Duffers' Golf Tournament, which benefited what is now the Drue Smith/SPJ Scholarship Fund. Several years ago, the Duffers' was formally renamed as the Duren Cheek Invitational Golf Tournament.

Duren's dedication to SPJ was evident to everyone who worked with him. He will deeply missed.

Bob Battle, former Banner business editor, dies at 82

From the Tennessean obit:

He started working part time with the Nashville Banner in 1943 and spent a career as a reporter, covering police, politics, entertainment, business and other beats, and retiring as vice president and senior business editor when the Banner folded in 1998.

Beth Fortune, Vanderbilt University vice chancellor for Public Affairs, started at the Banner in 1985 and spent 7 years there. She said Battle helped show her and other young reporters the ropes.

“Newsrooms are filled with great characters, and Bob Battle was one of the greatest,” she said.

Channel 4's Dan Miller dead of heart attack at 67

My condolences go out to our friends at WMSV, who have lost a colleague and dear friend. From the Channel 4 site:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Longtime WSMV-TV anchor Dan Miller died Wednesday night of a heart attack in his hometown of Augusta, Ga., at the age of 67.

Miller was in Augusta to watch practice rounds of the Masters Golf Tournament with fellow friends and longtime co-workers Terry Bulger and Rudy Kalis ...

Miller, born in 1941, was the recipient of multiple Emmy Awards, was voted Best News Anchor in Nashville more than 20 times and recognized by Television/Radio Age as the Most Popular News Anchor in the United States.

Eddie Jones, former Banner chief, dies at 85

"He was a true citizen journalist," John Seigenthaler told The Tennessean. "He believed in objective, good-news journalism."

Remembering Robert Churchwell, who broke Southern newspapers' color barrier

Robert Churchwell Sr., who died this weekend, was the first black staffer at a major Southern newspaper, a title that was both a huge accomplishment and a huge burden.

From Tennessean reporter Colby Sledge: 

Mr. Churchwell began reporting solely on the African-American community in an attempt by the Banner to increase circulation among black readers. The 1998 book The Children — the account by former Tennessean reporter David Halberstam of the Nashville civil rights movement — said Mr. Churchwell met with hostility in his own newsroom and among some African-Americans unhappy with his decision to work at the Banner.