Incredibly gracious swan song from a former boss
Please indulge a brief tribute to a former boss, who “parted ways” with the Tribune Company this week — involuntarily, based on his swan-song post on his popular blog, Online News Squared. Scott Anderson is another victim of the struggling newspaper industry.
If faced with the same situation, may I have as much grace as Scott does in his post, after working for Tribune for 27 years: “That a company could love, nurture, encourage (and tolerate) someone for that long a stretch is a testament to the soul, heart and greatness of Mama T in her prime.”
Twice during my career, Scott was my boss, when we both worked for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — a Tribune newspaper. Two stories:
When I was a (much younger) reporter covering courts in Palm Beach County, Fla., Scott was my bureau chief. A federal magistrate handed down a controversial ruling in a high-profile Palm Beach murder case, potentially overturning the man’s conviction. The final ruling would be up to a federal district court judge.
Scott wanted me to call the judge’s clerk every. single. day. until he issued his ruling, but he trusted me to handle it my way. I struck a deal with the clerk: I won’t call every day, but would you please call ALL my numbers when the time comes? Days stretched to weeks into months. Every month or so, Scott couldn’t stand it anymore and he’d nag me to call. Sheepishly, I’d call the clerk and blame my boss.
Eventually, I got the phone call and the scoop.
But the best story was the afternoon dinner party that Scott and Rose, his “significant other,” invited me to attend. With my wife and a bunch of other friends, we showed up for the party, made our small talk, nibbled our munchies and watched kids play. Suddenly, a wedding broke out! Scott and Rose had tricked us, but we were all honored and thrilled to be on hand to see them get married — with Rose’s son John as a witness.
Scott’s been on the web since Mosaic and an Internet user since before that. “If you’re not on the edge,” he used to tell me, “you’re taking up too much room.” Tribune Company may be done with him, but the online news industry shouldn’t be.
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Kurt's Tweets- Realizing how woefully out of touch I have been with this part of the county. (@ Saint Louis Bread Company) http://4sq.com/5z5Bfh
- Just had my first Gmail phone call -- with my parents -- and the quality was fantastic. Wow. http://tcrn.ch/a8GndI
- Another day, another interview. Fingers crossed. (@ Saint Louis Bread Co) http://4sq.com/avGImL
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View Comments on Incredibly gracious swan song from a former boss
Off topic, but what a cool job to cover the court beat! That sounds like such a neat gig
I used to work for Scott, too. No better boss, no better friend. A class act all the way.
Melody: It was a cool beat. Might have been my favorite. Very competitive, but the neat thing about the court beat is that every kind of story goes through there — crime, corruption, love, finance, comedy, tragedy….
Thanks for visiting.
My husband and I have a picture of us in our living room that was taken at Scott and Rose’s surprise wedding. I’ve always admired how Scott turned into John’s father long before he officially held the title. A good man through and through – and he’s got friends, if he needs them.
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and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!