PAGE 3
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
Room59
The story of a journey
The journey of a story
Thresholds
On a bright morning in early July 2009,
I left newspapers for good, exiting
through the back door of a Gannett
shop in Appleton, Wisconsin. I have
no regrets; so disinclined am I to look
back I didn't see any of the comments
about my departure that were left im-
mediately afterward on GannettBlog or
Gannettoid, the two main forums for
those in the corporate fold, until, at
the urging of a friend, I looked them up two years later. Here's what they had said about me when I left the building:
"…a liberator, bringing back a love of writing and storytelling that was so absent in his shop. He frustrated those who cling to formula and rules, perhaps the highest praise of all."
"…hands-down the most talented writer I've ever worked with."
"…hands-down the most talented writer I've ever worked with."
"…a truly world-class editor."
"…a rock star."
"...the best damn journalist to walk in -- and, unfortunately, out -- those doors."
I was stirred more by the image of my walking away than I was by the "best damn journalist" part. There comes a time in every life when moving on is the only sane option. Leaving newspapers, I finished working toward an advanced degree, a master of fine arts in writing degree, and switched careers to academia. Now, with that advanced degree hanging on the wall of my office at Canisius College, I respond thus to friends who ask whether I missed the newspaper business: "I missed it more when I was still in it. Too many memories. Too many ghosts." Once, not so long ago, news-papers dreamed big. Not anymore. The best place to do the work required for sav-ing them, I've decided, is on a college campus, where people not only still dare to imagine a future but to get ex-cited about and build for it.
The day I walked out of a newspaper building for the very last time I was 26 years older than the day I walked into one for the very first time. In those 26 years I worked with an awful lot of good people, wrote or edited a helluva lot of stories and built a body of work that at once speaks for itself and prompts others to speak on its behalf. Here's what they say:
“I worked as a writer and editor at The Wall Street Journal for 17 years, hiring a lot of writers, many of whom went on to great heights in journalism. Today, I bring in the best writers and editors from around the country, storytellers like Rob Kaiser, to speak each summer at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest about the art and craft of storytelling. Rob's simply one of the best writers and editors in the country, period.”
George Getschow University of North Texas“Rob is a supremely talented writer who somehow has managed to avoid the egocentrism and inability to work and play well with others that sometimes afflicts that breed. On the contrary, he is a generous colleague who is always willing to help others, whether that involves improving individual stories or mentoring someone informally over the course of many years. His tutoring and friendship when he was a veteran staff writer and I was a very green intern at the Lexington Herald-Leader helped pave my path towards full-time reporting jobs at the Dallas Morning News and Washington Post. We've kept in touch ever since. I have always envied Rob's talent. During a 17-year career in journalism I met several extraordinary writers. A few were as good as Rob -- but none were better. Now I envy his students, too.”
Christopher Lee Kaiser-Permanente“Rob Kaiser is an extraordinary talent. He's an unusually gifted storyteller. He has an instinctive sense of how to create compelling narratives."
Joel Christopher The Post-Crescent"Simply put, he's one of the best newspaper writers of our generation, someone who can paint pictures with words."
Andrew Oppmann Middle Tennessee State University"True writers are artists. The blank page is their canvas and their words are brushstrokes that paint indelible images as vivid to the eye as if Renoir or Monet stood at the easel. It is no often I've come across a newspaper columnist who is, by my definition, a writer. The late Mike Royko, Bob Greene and numorist Dave Barry come to mind. To the list I add Rob Kaiser. Read his Sunday column and try not to be moved. You can't. His words paint an indelible picture.
Douglas M. McLeod University of Wisconsin "Glib Replies" blog"...the best damn journalist to walk in -- and, unfortunately, out -- those doors."
