Papers

Journalism was how I began my career. And I loved it.
But the long hours and low pay were too much for me. It's not for many folks.
I have many friends who still work at papers all over the country.
And I have a lot of people who influenced me and my life who still work in papers.

No. 1 would be Bill Spencer with the Fort Morgan Times. Still my favorite editor and a good friend. Bill taught me about remaining cool under pressure (I swear this guy's blood pressure is something like 2) and about what is now called "community journalism" which really means a paper is more than a way to communicate, it's a member of the community.

One of the other biggest influences on me was Chris Cobler of the Greeley Tribune. Chris was the one who called me while I was working in Fort Morgan and asked if I wanted to interview for a job in Greeley. For the next four years, with Chris pushing me, like he did everyone who worked at the Trib, and with my good friend Randy Bangert leading, I realized two things: 1) Newspapers are tough beasts. They demand time, skills, patience, dogged competition, time (did I mention that?), dedication and invite, often times, brutal criticism. 2) Newspapers are not my life.

With Chris and Randy at the Trib, the paper became the best mid-sized daily paper in the state, and I would have compared it to any around the country.

This week, Chris is leaving the Trib. I don't like the circumstances. It's too complicated to get into here. But my problem is that a lot of people who worked with Chris don't seem to care what he gave up and what he did to help make the Trib great. One of my friends who used to work at the Trib paraphrases the Marines slogan when talking about the Trib: "It's the toughest job you'll ever hate."

And I can understand that. Chris was a hard-ass. He didn't settle for crappy quality and demanded a lot out of everyone who worked at the paper. I realized my family was more important to me than a newspaper. That's why I left. And while I may have been frustrated at that, I certainly never questioned Chris' commitment and dedication to the Trib and to journalism.

This year Alex also got to work under Chris ... as a player on Chris' basketball team. It has been the best basketball experience he has had. He has learned more and appreciated the game more than ever before (even if I still don't think it's a sport!). Chris is an excellent mentor and knows how to get the best out of people.

I am going to miss Chris and I wish him and his family the best in wherever life takes them next.