Letter from the Editor: My unwavering commitment to you
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
My alter ego, Grammar Moses, might have something to say about a lede like that, but as an ethos, the phrase has some merit.
John Lampinen's retirement on Dec. 31 after 48 years at the Daily Herald, the last 20 as the editor and conscience of the newsroom, is bittersweet for me.
I was John's summer intern in 1983 when he oversaw the then-weekly Lake County newspapers. I learned a lot from him that first day. And I still learned a lot from him in the weeks leading up to his departure.
Ours was a mentor/mentee relationship that matured over the years, especially the last nine when I worked directly for him again as the managing editor.
That's not to say I am his clone. That's not to say nothing will change under my watch. But I learned and helped to develop the Daily Herald playbook over nearly four decades, and I see no reason to throw it in the trash and start writing a new one.
What a waste of a successful formula that would be.
We've been steadfast in our support for the communities and readers we serve for all the time I've been here and for more than a century before that. We'll celebrate our 150th anniversary later this year.
We aim to inform our readers, inspire our readers by sharing the stories of others who do good work or rise above, be a watchdog for our readers; build our communities, promote engagement and understanding among our readers, put people in need in touch with those who can help, encourage people to get involved in their communities, support strong education; promote entrepreneurship, and search for solutions to the problems we face.
I try every Sunday to provide a needed laugh with the grammar column.
In the words of John Lampinen, we do all of these things with the goal "to make the world a little better place." You can expect to see some new things, of course - we're always adding to and refining our playbook - but my support for the philosophy of making the world a better place will never waver.
• Jim Baumann was named Executive Editor in November, 2021.