By ANNIE SANTOR
SUNY Brockport

Our lives are an endless series of choices and risks. When I first chose SUNY Brockport, I wanted to be an English teacher because I liked writing.

Fast forward to two years at Brockport. I was miserable. There is writing. Then there is teaching writing. They aren’t the same, I learned.

As I was about to start my observation hours for teaching, panic set in about my career choice and my future. Add to the panic that I also have a severe anxiety disorder. So making any changes to my life is terrifying. 

READ OTHERS:
• Summaries from more SUNY summer interns
• See WGRZ story on Annie and Marilyn.)

• See Buffalo Toronto Public Media story and video story.)

When I talked to my friends in Brockport’s journalism program, they would rave about how great the department was and how much they loved it. I started to think about a change. But the risk scared me. I would be changing my life trajectory halfway through college. 

This thought sat atop my head for weeks. Then I did it. You would think relief would have taken over. But it didn’t. 

“What did you just do?” was the new constant thought. 

 I remember walking into my first journalism class with a twisting in my chest. Life, that day, greeted me with professor Mary McKrank, and a light shined on me. She jumped to help with anything I needed and taught me at my own pace. I started to feel more like myself again. My anxiety got more under control. I was excited to go to class. I got back into a routine. 

That risk? Yeah, it was starting to feel worth it. 

My next step was finding an internship. I did not have much journalism experience at that point. A friend introduced me to Marilyn Kasperek, who’d be the second key person to enter my life last year.

Marilyn runs the tiny Akron Bugle. In a media world filled with Meta, CNN, the NY Times and more, Marilyn and Akron were the other side of the fence. Akron is a small village with about  2,859 people. 

Passion rings in Marilyn’s voice. It’s the first thing I heard as I told her my story. She listened to mine like she had thousands of other personal stories over the years she ran the Bugle with her husband, Ken. She talked about how important the Bugle is for the community and the difference she still wants to make after 45 years in business. 

I was inexperienced, but willing to learn. Marilyn was willing to meet me where I was. Marilyn didn’t have the budget to pay me. But the experience would be priceless to me.  A choice and a risk by both of us. Deal. 

Marilyn and Ken started the Akron Bugle 45 years ago. Marilyn was working as a journalist for the Clarence Bee covering the Akron/Newstead news. She loved the work, but the limited space given to the Akron/Newstead area meant much was left out. A friend sent Marilyn a book on how to start a newspaper. Marilyn’s passion for her community led her and Ken to take a risk. 

They believed in bettering the community and making a difference. They published the first issue of the Akron Bugle on July 2, 1981. Marilyn and Ken were the perfect couple to take on this business. Marilyn is a gifted writer with experience as a reporter. Her job was writing. Ken was a talented photographer and artist. He took on the creativity in the paper. The billing duties were split between them. Those first editions were not simple. The stories were typed on a typewriter and reduced on a copier to newspaper size. Each strip of news was cut by hand and waxed to lay on paper layout sheets. 

The partnership lasted until Ken passed away in 2023. Amid the pain, Marilyn made the decision to keep going. 

“We built this newspaper together,” said Marilyn this summer. “We both believed it makes a positive difference in the community. I was pretty sure he would want me to keep it going at least until there was a succession plan. Our grandson’s interests, increasing involvement, and ideas are a continuing motivator as well.”  

Their grandson, Shaun, has taken on a huge role in the Bugle since his grandfather’s passing. His creativity mirrors his grandfather’s.  Press day is every Tuesday. I spent my Tuesdays this summer with them and could watch their shared passion for the community and this paper.  

Running a small newspaper has many challenges. Marilyn pauses when pondering them. She’s not one to complain. Finances are the biggest issue. The cost of postage and materials have increased over the years. Marilyn says a subscription is a want and not a need. While people value the information the Bugle is providing, when prices increase, it can result in a loss of customers. 

Marilyn has a village around her — people who have helped her navigate completing Ken’s job. While losing Ken was definitely not easy, Marilyn persevered.  

In America, two papers close every week, per an annual study from Northwestern University. The Akron Bugle is not one. 

Marilyn’s story is about a risk — several, if you’re keeping score.

She and Ken had no idea if the Akron Bugle would be successful. She had no idea if she could keep it going after he died. She just knew that her community was missing something.

I was, too.

This internship has opened so many opportunities and given me many connections. I truly love journalism. Perhaps by luck, but maybe by fate, the unpaid risk I accepted actually became paid. The Institute for Local News at SUNY placed 32 students in New York newsrooms this summer — paying for all those positions knowing a paid experience would unlikely be available if left to budget-starved local newsrooms.  I was the last one into the program in May. 

The SUNY Research Foundation, SUNY Impact Foundation and Lumina Foundation provide funds for the students and the 2-year-old Institute.

This summer convinced me my risk was the right choice. 

I want communities to receive news that is the truth. If I can play a part in delivering news that is the truth, that means a lot to me. I want to be a storyteller for communities, to bring them together, keep them informed. 

Times have changed with media and news. Social media plays a huge role, and not always good. Too much fake news spreads through social media. For me, who is aspiring to be a journalist, this is frustrating. 

I took a chance on me. Marilyn took a chance on me. 

Two lives. Two risks. One tremendous summer.

(Anne Santor is a Senior at SUNY Brockport and graduates in May.)