The life and times of the newspaper business has been a rocky road over the past few years both from the inside and outside.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As a newspaper guy it has been both fun and at times disconcerting.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This week I received the news that our sports reporter, Erick Walker, is leaving to become a teacher for the Kent School District.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As the editor of this newspaper, Erick leaving is a loss for us and a loss to sports reporting in this state.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He is the best sports writer I have ever worked with and I have worked with many.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
However, this loss to the newspaper industry is a gain for the school district.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I spend a considerable amount of time squinting at financial numbers and trying to discern the twists and turns of the economy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t say it improves my mood or makes people more inclined to call me Mr. Sunshine, which always surprises me.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I may not be any better at figuring out the economic future than Standard & Poor\u2019s was in predicting the fall of Enron, but I am sure of one thing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The road out of our mess runs through our education system.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Our schools need the best and brightest we can offer, and the Kent School District got one with Erick.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sports writers are their own breed. Anyone who has been around the news business knows a born and bred sports writer is unlike any other beast with a pen and paper.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Some are stats geeks and their stories are like reading a seventh-grade math problem.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I always tell those type of writers to try throwing a couple of words between the numbers. It will do wonders for the read.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Some look for the latest tragedy of the week, and then there are the sleepers \u2014 he throws, he catches, he scores, see ya.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
All of them work in their own way and at certain times.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The best are the ones who tell the story. It is the story that matters and the story that compels us to read.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The one thing that Erick always understood was the arc of the story and how to tell it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Many great writers have written sports at one time during their careers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Norman Mailer was at his height when he wrote \u201cThe Fight\u201d describing the title bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I recently found an early journalism piece by Richard Wright, best known for \u201cNative Son.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Wright was covering the 1938 Joe Louis rematch against Max Schmeling. Wright published his classic two years later, but the writer was there in 1938.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sports writers and sports writing is a world of its own.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It has its own language, rhythm and it is not as easy as it sometimes looks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It takes an understanding of the sport, numbers and human behavior.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Another trick is getting between the canned talk to find the story that is resting beneath. It takes some doing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Erick understood story, sports and young athletes, which makes him a perfect fit for the schools.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I hate to lose him, but where he is going is a gain for this community and the schools.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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