The other day I wrote about the sad departure of Burlington Times-News sports editor Bob Sutton after 25 years due to corporate layoffs related to the merger of GateHouse Media and Gannett. I noted then that I had worked with the best sports editor in the newspaper's history -- the late Bill Hunter -- and … Continue reading From the Wayback Machine: Tribute to a true sports writing legend
Strange but true journalism stories
Dishing it out at the office
The front page of today's Wall Street Journal (March 11, 2020) features a story about a rebound in the stock market (good news), two stories involving the COVID-19 outbreak (it is what it is), another item about a plan by Vladimir Putin to remain president of Russia (shocking!), and something about the removal of U.S. … Continue reading Dishing it out at the office
It was a newspaper marriage, right down to the invitation
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I first wrote this in 2007, on the 10th anniversary of my marriage to the former Roselee Papandrea. I'm sharing it again today on our 22nd anniversary. And this time I was able to include the unusual wedding invitation referenced in the story. --- It was a newspaper marriage right down to the … Continue reading It was a newspaper marriage, right down to the invitation
Speaking of journalism: What I told a civic club in 2014
This is the basic text of a speech I gave to the Burlington Kiwanis Club five years ago -- May 29, 2014 -- back when I was editor of the Burlington Times-News. I was coming to the end of my journalism career then and I knew it. But I had seen a lot in terms … Continue reading Speaking of journalism: What I told a civic club in 2014
Then there was that Thanksgiving when my lung exploded
This happened in 2006, on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving that year. I wrote about the experience for the Jacksonville Daily News a couple of months later in January 2007. Five months after that, we moved to Burlington -- that was a lot of stuff going on all at one short period of time. … Continue reading Then there was that Thanksgiving when my lung exploded
A message from one friend to another
Two years ago I reached out via a final newspaper column to a person in the Alamance County community who made a profound difference in the lives of several dozen people who were undergoing some hardship. In the process this person, someone I came to call "My Anonymous Friend," strongly impacted my own life. His … Continue reading A message from one friend to another
The life of Don Bolden: Editor emeritus, citizen emeritus
I wrote this news obituary about my one-time boss and longtime friend Don Bolden for the Burlington Times-News in advance of his death. I was asked if I would take on this assignment so the newspaper would have something substantial in hand when the end came. I sent this to city editor Tom Jones in … Continue reading The life of Don Bolden: Editor emeritus, citizen emeritus
Wanted: A gathering of Burlington newspaper people
Sunday afternoon we said goodbye to one-time newspaper colleague and lifetime friend Don Bolden, who died Aug. 2, 2018 at age 85 after an eight-month fight with cancer. I made the short drive from my house in Burlington to First Baptist Church in downtown just a few miles away. Others traveled far greater distances to … Continue reading Wanted: A gathering of Burlington newspaper people
That time Susan Sarandon visited Graham
I wrote this at about the time the film "Bull Durham" celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1998. The baseball film comedy just turned 30 in June so it's time to share it again. A big chunk of the popular movie starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon was filmed at minor league ballparks and other locations … Continue reading That time Susan Sarandon visited Graham
Black, white and red all over
When reports first surfaced Thursday afternoon about the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette, a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, dozens of thoughts crossed my mind simultaneously. I'm an old newspaper guy after all and even though I left the business in November of 2016, there's no such thing as a former journalist, especially for someone … Continue reading Black, white and red all over
Madison's Avenue 