Our mission: Keeping you in the know
In my desk, I keep a few reminders of my earliest days in the Daily Herald newsroom.
One is a tattered paperback dictionary, now held together with a rubber band, passed down from an editor who left decades ago. Seeing it reminds me how supportive he was of a rookie reporter just out of college. I also keep a pica pole, a metal ruler of sorts that was used to measure type and lay out pages by hand.
In 2024, I don’t need either. Online dictionaries and spell check are way more up-to-date than my split, coverless Merriam-Webster relic. Layout is now done with a mouse and keyboard. But they remind me of who I was when I launched my career and how much I learned in a newsroom filled with colorful characters and incredible mentors.
In mid-May, I became the newspaper’s executive editor following the retirement of Jim Baumann. It is an incredible honor to follow in the footsteps of Jim, John Lampinen, Doug Ray and others before them.
They built something special; I plan to honor that in my new role as executive editor.
My tools have changed in nearly 40 years in journalism, but my commitment has not. And I believe more than ever in the importance of local news.
These first few weeks in my new role have been devoted to re-examining our leadership structure and preparing for the challenges ahead. Next, we will look at our areas of coverage and ask ourselves how we can better report on the suburbs in print and online.
Our mission is clear: We want to bring you the kind of suburban news that keeps you in the know about your towns, schools, businesses, sports teams and entertainment options. We want to let you know about that new development going up across town or the new restaurant opening in your village. We want to let you know about school board decisions that have an impact on your children’s education and your tax bills. We want to let you know about both crime that affects our communities and the good deeds of those who make the suburbs a better place to live.
That’s what we do best, but we are always looking to grow and to adapt. So if there is something you would like to see in the newspaper, or a story idea you want to share, please reach out at news@dailyherald.com.
Thank you for reading, and for being a crucial part of the Daily Herald’s mission.