Ohio University’s theme, “Forever Ohio,” can mean many things to different people. To alums, it often means an eternal place of memories they will cherish and an invisible string that will forever tie them to the place that nurtured them into the workplace. Ken Klein definitely took this mindset to heart.
Klein, OU class of 1976, has dedicated both the years of his life at OU and the years after to feats in the journalism world and sharing the accomplishments of others.
“Achievement should be celebrated,” Klein said. “There’s plenty of achievement that should be spotlighted. Sharing information about others creates community and alumni engagement and a continued connection to Ohio University after people leave.”
Klein spent the latter half of his time on campus at The Post, planting his roots in his future of journalism. Klein reminisced about the differences with the paper now.
“We put out a print paper five days a week,” he said. “In those days, we had to drive to a print press in Logan to get the thing printed and then drive back in the wee hours of the morning. So there’s hands-on production, different than the sort of digital age today.”
Klein additionally met his wife, Susan DeFord, class of 1976, at OU and together they had three sons; the youngest plans on getting married this year.
Just before getting his bachelor’s in journalism, Klein enrolled in a foreign internship program that would soon become one of the key moments during his time as a Bobcat. He worked for The Associated Press in Tel Aviv, Israel, and described it as an amazing experience.
“For the AP in Tel Aviv, these people were like NBA All-Stars in journalism,” he said, laughing. “They were trilingual … they're fast. And I just had never seen anything like that firsthand.”
Klein went on to work for Gannett-owned News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida, and The Associated Press in Tallahassee, Florida. Afterward, he went to work in Washington D.C. to work for congressional staff and a trade association.
While Klein traveled far and wide for his exceptional work in his field, his ties to OU never faded. His work as a research assistant and his social media series gave him a reputation and a name Scripps students have come to know and love: “KenSharesScripps.”
“There’s endless content available,” Klein said. “People said, ‘Well, you’re going to run out of content by three days out. You won't have anything to say.’ We never ran out of content.”
After his retirement in 2021, Klein devoted more time to celebrating students' work across social media. At one point, Klein was posting content seven days a week across Instagram, Threads, X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn.
“My interest was to celebrate student, alumni (and) faculty success, to keep Athens on the map and to share information to a large community,” he said.
Klein’s series is coming to a close after his knee replacement surgery happened Jan. 31. His recovery protocol and disciplined physical therapy program call for his attention instead. Despite this, his love for student and alumni accomplishments continues to flourish. Klein plans to travel once he’s healed and attend his son’s destination wedding.
Learning through his experiences in and out of OU, Klein advises everyone to get out of their comfort zone and get hands-on experience. Using a sports metaphor, he said to get better, one has to compete with players on a higher level.
Students and alums alike are sad to see “KenSharesScripps” logging off, but the effects of his time spent advocating for the accomplishments of others will remain as well as the advice he has to offer to those looking to follow his path of success.
“Recognize that, you know, change is inevitable,” Klein said. “But disruption also creates opportunity.”
