The old editor, take 2

 I mentioned the other day that I’d been thinking about some advice I got from an old editor. The advice had little to do with newspapers and business. It had a lot to do with what kind of person I wanted to be.

This fellow was big on cultivating interests and friends outside of work. He thought newspapers would be better if more newspaper editors did that. Some jobs can be demanding, and I’m grateful that someone, way back then, was telling me that there’s meaningful work to do outside of the kind of work that pays the bills.

A couple of bits of his advice spilled over into newspaper work.

I made it a practice to begin my day at the local coffeeshop.  I’d usually meet someone to talk about some issue that was important one of the many groups in a diverse community. Sometimes, though, I’d just eavesdrop. I did this before the phrase “echo chamber” became common. But newspapers, like politics, can become echo chambers. A daily trip to the coffee shop is a pretty good defense.

I also kept a list of things my beloved community was missing. And every once in a while, I’d ask the readers what they thought could be done to fill a specific gap. It was always surprising how many people are willing to put aside differences to make their communities a little better.