A prayer for Van McKenzie

One last story, and let's go home....
****

Late '80s. AJC calls a high-powered meeting. The topic: how the Journal-Constitution can move to the next level, there with the great newspapers of America.

Owner's there. Publisher's there. Editor, general manager, circulation, production.

First man up, Van.

"All I got to say is the sports department is already the best in the country," he says. "We're rootin' for the rest of you to catch up."

Sits down.

****

I've printed out the pages of this thread to give to Van's family. It's over 100 pages to here, filled with respect for the man. Perfect.

Thank you all.

 

I read the Vanifesto (thanks, Moddy) for the first time a few minutes ago, and all I can say about that is that it made me, a copy editor on a news desk at a smaller community paper, want to go in tomorrow and do my job better.

I confess that I wasn't really familiar with McKenzie's work, being a West Coast guy all my life, but I can see now that journalism has suffered a huge, huge loss.

 

amen.

 

For some reason, Tom Patterson and Buddy Martin are having computer problems that won't let them post to SportsJournalists.com, so I've suggested that they e-mail their comments to me and I'll post on their behalf.

So stay tuned. Thanx.

 

The Vanifesto is making its rounds in our department. Count about 15 more people who would have run through any wall necessary for Mr. McKenzie.

 

Shot, we have three over here ready to join up.

And the AJC story is easily my favorite so far.

 

An Irish wake and a call to arms and all in a single thread. Amazing.

 

Dave, in a thread that is full of amazing Van stories, that one from the AJC is truly definitive of the AJC's domination and the work Van put into that section, and all others across the country. He brought a passion to this business never to be forgotten.
There is not one sports journalist without a tear in his or her eye over Van's passing.
I myself feel privileged to at least have passed by his way a few times during my APSE years, and hoping I did a little something to gain the man's respect. He was a great journalist, a leader that many wanted to work for, and a down-to-earth people person that is the model for other newspaper managers to follow.
Godspeed, Van...

Paul Bowker
APSE past president

 

The former I expected. The latter is a surprise.

 

Good. This thread is a tonic. I already passed Van's "bookends" to two people and nudged a a sportswriter to check out the entire thread. Every story here has applications for any area of the newsroom.

More, please...

 

I will never get tired of reading Van stories.
Keep 'em coming.