It is a sad day in our newsroom as we absorb the news of the death of Charlie Waters, our former executive editor. Charlie led The Bees newsroom between 1998 and 2006 and set a very high standard for writing, editing and ethics. He turned routine writers into storytellers, creating a special bond between reporters and editors along the way. Thats no small thing in this ego-driven business. His news team churned out award-winning projects on almost any subject you can think of. The walls of my office are lined with the front pages of many of the projects that Charlie oversaw: A Madness called Meth, Broke and Broken about the job crisis in the Valley, Lost in America about Hmong immigrants, Last Gasp about the Valleys air crisis, Dying to lose weight about gastric bypass surgery, season in the Sun about the life of farmworkers. Charlie was as old-school they come -- gruff on the outside, but a heart of gold on the inside. I have yet to talk to someone this morning who did not have a special story about how Charlie helped them in their careers or personal life. Check out the tributes to Charlie by former colleagues Keith Moyer, Ken Riddick and Betsy Lumbye. Their posts capture the essence of Charlie in very personal ways. I humbly suggest that my Facebook friends will be better people by getting to know what this man stood for and how his humor drove home important messages about journalism and life. Betsy offers some great quotes from Charlie. Youll be repeating them tomorrow.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 21:01:09 +0000
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