By Perry Stewart
Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Aug. 26, 2000
Karen Potter Campbell, an award-winning former Star- Telegram reporter and editor who wrote stories on a broad scope of society, ranging from political leaders to Death Row inmates, died of cancer yesterday at her home in Clifton Park, N.Y. She was 40.
She was managing editor for features at the Times Union in Albany, N.Y., where her husband, former Star-Telegram sportswriter Steve Campbell, works as a sports columnist. The couple had an 11-month- old daughter, Olivia.
Her funeral will be Tuesday in Clifton Park.
While at the Star-Telegram writing as Karen Potter, she covered news, politics and features and earned the esteem of colleagues and public figures. She worked as a reporter for the Star-Telegram metro and state desks in Fort Worth and at the capital bureau in Austin. She served as bureau chief in Austin and as senior editor for features at the newspaper's main office in Fort Worth.
She covered Ann Richards' successful run for Texas governor in 1990 and was praised by the former governor as "a tenacious reporter."
"I remember Karen Potter as a quiet reporter who seemed to be everywhere in the 1990 campaign," Richards said. "Later, in the governor's office, I saw her almost daily, even sometimes when I wished fervently not to see another newspaper reporter. But she was always gracious in her manner, and I always thought she seemed a little more thoughtful in her questions."
Ms. Potter also reported on the rising and falling political fortunes of Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis, winning an Associated Press Managing Editors award for coverage of the investigation into ethics charges against the speaker.
"I always thought Karen was one of the best reporters we had in Austin, for the simple reason that she reported the facts and didn't speculate on the facts," Lewis said. "She was a person who did her job and did it well. I can't say that for all reporters."
Jeff Cohen, Times Union editor and vice president, said Ms. Potter "embodied what is right about journalism. Her priorities were fine writing, unshakable ethics and editing features sections that challenged our readers."
A former supervisor, Louis Hudson of the Star-Telegram remembered Ms. Potter as "one of the most amazing story-finders I've ever known. She could go to the most boring, complicated, arcane, technically mind-numbing event and find a fun story to write about."
While assigned to the Fort Worth office, Ms. Potter was the lead writer in the Star- Telegram's investigation of the 1985 Delta Airline crash at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. She also covered an earthquake in El Salvador and a cafeteria massacre in Killeen, exposed home repair rip-offs and designed a state desk beat covering more than 20 counties.
She left the Austin bureau to return to Fort Worth as senior editor for features. Writers in that department recall her compassion, good humor and total dedication. Several current and former feature writers remembered that if Ms. Potter couldn't find the correct writer for a story, she would cover the story herself.
An often-cited example of this was the time Ms. Potter assigned herself to write what turned out to be an insightful and poignant article about the women of Texas' Death Row making dolls to pass the time.
There was also a lighter side to her writing. Star-Telegram Executive Editor Jim Witt recalled: "One year we decided to do a retrospective on your high school prom. We bought Tim Madigan a tuxedo and Karen a prom dress, and they attended [a local] prom. They were both about 10 years removed from high school. Karen wrote a hilarious story."
She was born Nov. 11, 1959, in Joplin, Mo., and grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. She graduated with honors from Southern Methodist University with a double major in journalism and business administration and did graduate study at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Former Star-Telegram Executive Editor Mike Blackman recalled that as a college intern at the Star-Telegram Ms. Potter regularly covered news stories beyond the scope of neophytes. "She already had the right approach, the right balance to handle the big story," Blackman said. "I always thought she would one day be the editor of a major newspaper."
In addition to her husband and daughter, Ms. Potter is survived by her parents, John and Linda Potter of Bartlesville, Okla.; and a sister, Jane Cawley of Tulsa, Okla.
Copyright 2000 Fort Worth Star-Telegram