Jane Carlson
Carlson named R-M features editor
Reporter shifts from education beat
Sunday, April 29, 2007
GALESBURG - Jane Carlson was named features editor of The Register-Mail last week.Carlson had been the education reporter at the paper since April 2006. She covered Abingdon, Knoxville and Galesburg school districts as well as Knox College, Monmouth College and Carl Sandburg College. She replaces Lifestyles Editor Janet Klockenga, who had been at the newspaper since 1991.
Klockenga left The Register-Mail on April 6 to take a job as senior editor of the magazine department at The Des Moines Register in Des Moines, Iowa.
Editor Tom Martin said the position is important for the newspaper. As features editor, Carlson will oversee content for the entertainment, food and Sunday lifestyles sections and will be in charge of assigning and writing feature stories for page 1.
"Jane is smart, organized and diligent," Martin said. "She's done a great job with education reporting, and I'm excited to see what she'll do with features pages."
Carlson grew up near Rio and is a 1994 graduate of AlWood High School. She graduated from Monmouth College in 1998. She now lives in Galesburg with her husband, Chad Simpson, who teaches creative writing at Knox College.
"As someone who grew up in this area and chose to return as an adult, I am excited about being able to tell local people's stories," Carlson said.
Before joining The Register-Mail's staff, Carlson worked as a copywriter and publicist for the Southern Illinois University Press, a copywriter for the University of Illinois Press and as a grant writer at Knox College. Carlson interned as a news reporter at The Register-Mail in 1997.
Carlson plans to increase local content in her three sections, including profiling more local cooks, chefs and restaurants in the food section and making the entertainment section a guide for weekend activities within the community.
"One of the things I enjoyed most about the education beat was writing features stories for the Saturday education page," Carlson said. "I'm looking forward to driving content for the entertainment, food and lifestyles sections and incorporating more features in the daily paper."
Carlson said she is open to suggestions from readers on story ideas or how the sections can be improved. She can be reached at 343-7181, Ext. 265 or jcarlson@register-mail.com.
