NORTHPORT — James Costello Sr., president and publisher of Sun Media Group, was among four Mainers inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The other inductees were Robert K. Diebold, former managing editor of the Penobscot Times; the late Clayton LaVerdiere, a 50-year employee of the Waterville Morning Sentinel; and the late John K. Murphy, a longtime employee of the Kennebec Journal and former executive editor of the Portland Press Herald.

The inductions were made at the press association’s annual conference held at Point Lookout.

While introducing Costello to conference-goers, Sun Journal Executive Editor Rex Rhoades said that during Costello’s 57-year association with the Lewiston newspaper company, “he has become the guiding force, inspiration and chief innovator of what is now the Sun Media Group — a daily newspaper, 12 weeklies, a printing company and, over the past year, a software development company,” Celsius Technology Group. 

“Speaking as editor,” Rhoades said, “I believe Jim’s most enduring contribution to this newspaper has been setting and modeling the values that have led to continuing success.”

“It is fashionable,” Rhoades said, “for newspapers to say they are committed to local news and the communities they serve, but Jim Sr. has — year after year — backed that up with newsroom staffing levels far higher than the industry average.”

“He has constantly encouraged experimentation and innovation, making certain the Sun Journal has always had the most up-to-date technology,” Rhoades said.

Costello began working at Sun Media in 1952 as a member of the press
crew and in the composing room. He was named production manager in
1960, general manager in 1979, publisher and treasurer in 1983 and has
been president and publisher of the Sun Journal since 1993. He computerized the entire newspaper over the years, from the business office to advertising, circulation and the newsroom. He directed and managed two press conversions, three mailroom conversions and several redesigns of the newspaper.

In 1983, Costello started a Sunday edition of the Sun Journal, becoming the first paper in Maine to offer readers color photographs and graphics. In 1989, he merged the Evening Journal with the Daily Sun into a virtually new morning paper called the Sun Journal. 

Costello is the third generation of his family to operate the newspaper. During his tenure, the Sun Journal has won numerous journalism and design awards on state, regional and national levels. Last year, the Sun Journal was named the best daily and best weekend paper in Maine, and has been named one of the best-designed newspapers in the country by the Society of News Design.

Costello is a past president and board member of Tri-County Mental Health, St. Mary’s Regional Hospital, Marcotte Nursing Home and Tri-County Health Planning Board. An Army veteran of the European Theater from 1956 to 1957, he has served on the boards of Northeast Bank, Northern Utilities Inc. and the Maine Criminal Justice Planning and Assistance Agency. He is also a past president of the Maine Daily Newspaper Publishers Association and the New England Newspaper Association. In 2000, Costello received the Gannett Family Business of the Year award.

The induction of Costello, Diebold, LaVerdiere and Murphy brings a total of 49 members to the MPA Hall of Fame, which is housed at the University of Maine in Orono. Previous Sun Journal inductees include former Farmington freelance correspondent Barbara Yeaton in 2001, former sports-editor-turned-city-editor Daniel Dexter in 2003, and former longtime regional editor Polly Ouimet in 2008.

Diebold earned a record 47 MPA awards and honorable mentions during his 13 years with the weekly Penobscot Times, including 13 first-place awards. He is probably best-known for his three-and-a-half-year quest to remedy an injustice against an Old Town police officer who was accused of child molestation, according to the MPA.

LaVerdiere was known as “Mr. Waterville” during his years with the Sentinel, writing more than 20,000 stories and 3,000 columns. According to Special Projects Director Glenn Turner, LaVerdiere’s columns “are a treasure of information and knowledge about the city of Waterville, written by a man who knew its streets, its history and its people.”

Murphy started with the Augusta newspaper when writing was done on typewriters and “all-night poker sessions were the norm,” according to co-worker Kim Clifford. A past president of the Portland Newspaper Guild, Murphy won Associated Press awards for his writing, but his real contribution was as an editor, earning him legendary status at the papers.

Sun Journal president and publisher James Costello Sr., center, was inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame on Saturday during the organization’s annual meeting. Some of the family members who were in attendance were, from left to right, sons Steve, Jim Jr. and David; wife, Janice; and daughters Maureen and Cathy.