In the first episode of Disappearing Ink, Otis Sanford, the former deputy managing editor of the Commercial Appeal, and Dr. David Arant, the chair of the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis, discuss the early days of the Teen Appeal newspaper. As the liaison between the Commercial Appeal and Teen Appeal, Sanford played a crucial role in printing and distributing almost 20,000 copies of the high school newspaper to every student in Memphis City Schools. At the same time, Arant and the journalism faculty at UofM worked tirelessly to establish a space and structure within the Meeman Journalism Building to train and host high school journalists.