March 24, 2010

Huntsville Times getting new design director

Paul Wallen, who took a break from journalism to become a foster parent, will head up design efforts at The Huntsville Times, an Advance Publication in Alabama.

Charles Apple reminds us in a blog post, "Easily amused?" that Paul Wallen becomes design director at the Huntsville Times the week of March 29.

Apple, who often blogs about design journalists, played off one of Wallen's Tweets on house hunting, reminding us that he told us of the job switch earlier. Read that post from Apple for examples of Wallen's work.
(The tweet: "So excited about being the first state on all those Web pulldown menus!")

Wallen, who was laid off in March 2009 from the Florida Sun-Sentinel and just weeks later became  the assistant managing editor for design and sports at the Kerrville (Texas) Daily Times, turned to running a foster home in Texas.

He told Apple in October he and his wife were becoming "full time foster parents at Boysville, a non-profit program northeast of San Antonio that specializes in providing safe, family-like homes for children who can not live with their real families for various reasons (illness, poverty, abuse, neglect, etc.)"

The foster care gig was his first outside of journalism for 22 years, including 17 years in daily newspapers. Wallen wrote to Apple:
"That’s pretty much my entire adult life and it’s really all I’ve ever known. So to say that I’m nervous about trying something so different would be one heck of an understatement."
Wallen replaces Tim Ball, who left in October for the Washington Post.

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I have written about The Huntsville Times before, including several posts about ex-publisher Howard Bronson, including his lawsuit, "retirement" and some speculation about his leaving.  

Don't forget Advance addiction fed by Alabama lawsuit.  (Sept. 21, 2009)

I also talk about The Huntsville Times in:



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