Goodloe and Jean Sutton

Southern Miss graduates, Goodloe and Jean Sutton, lived their lives and shared their journalism careers together, beginning when they both worked on the staff of The Student Printz, Goodloe as an executive editor and Jean as a business manager.  In 1964, they went to work for The Democrat-Reporter in Linden, Alabama – Goodloe as editor and publisher and Jean as a reporter.  Over several decades at the newspaper, they were repeatedly cited for journalistic excellence.  Their investigative reporting in the late 1990’s that uncovered and exposed corruption in the Marengo County (Alabama) Sheriff’s Department was recognized with numerous regional, national and international journalism awards, including the Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine Award and the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award.  The couple founded and owned several local newspapers in Demopolis, Camden, Thomasville and Sumter County, Alabama and the Suttons were also well respected civic leaders in Linden and in Western Alabama.  Jean Sutton passed away in 2003, and  both Mr. and Mrs. Sutton were inducted into the MCJ Hall of Fame in 2007.