ARTICLE
When we got the shocking news that Morning Call publisher and editor-in-chief David M. Erdman was retiring so he can focus on fighting a health problem — his departure becomes official this week — I was one of the employees asked to contribute a comment to the news story about it. After all, I'm one of a handful of people left at The Morning Call who were here when Erdman started 35 years ago as a reporter in our Bethlehem office, and he's been editing my columns for years. If you didn't work here or haven't been closely following years of turmoil throughout the newspaper industry, you'll have a hard time understanding what he meant to The Morning Call. After all, you haven't watched with dismay as the bureaus where you worked were shuttered to cut costs. You haven't gathered with colleagues at local bars to share black humor on the Friday night before each of us was scheduled to learn if we still had a job — and seen the empty chairs Monday morning. You haven't watched Tribune Co.'s foul-mouthed owner Sam Zell promise to remake your business, fail miserably and leave behind a mountain of debt and all kinds of embarrassing stories about the way his hand-picked team of jackasses behaved. You haven't watched CEOs snow you with rosy business-speak and depart with millions while you wait years for your next raise. You haven't watched some of your best friends reluctantly move on from a profession they loved or hang on desperately to whatever connection they can maintain to it. You haven't watched as jobs were sent to other parts of the country or shipped overseas, leaving your building half-deserted and challenging your ability to provide the same level of customer service. You haven't worried about your newspaper's diminished presence in some communities as reporters and institutional knowledge are spread thinner and thinner. You haven't seen two publishers — including one with strong ties to the community, a winning personality and a tremendous commitment to the newspaper — suddenly lose their jobs. You haven't wondered who will be next. That's the context you need to understand why losing Dave Erdman as our leader is such a shock to many of us. It's a terrible time to be a newspaper editor. Who wants to explain to productive, conscientious reporters, copy editors, photographers, graphic designers, editorial writers and so many more why their positions are being eliminated? Who wants to make those hard decisions? It's not enough anymore to know a strong news story from a weak one or to have the editing skills to turn a good story into a great one, important as those skills are. You need to be diplomatic enough to successfully argue your newsroom's case with people who have different priorities. You need to be brave enough to defend the things you think are important, even under heavy pressure from above. You need to maintain your vision and optimism when some around you are feeling despair. You need to stand up to powerful people in the community when they're unhappy about the hard truths your newspaper has revealed. Why will we miss Dave Erdman? Because he was all those things. The Morning Call has maintained a strong focus on its role as a watchdog for our community because of Erdman. He was relentless on the subject, determined that this newspaper would look out for its readers. Think of him every time you see that Watchdog label on another investigative story or consumer intervention. The Morning Call has stayed ahead of the curve in its commitment to digital journalism and technological innovation, with Erdman playing a huge role in that, too. Long before many of us came around to the idea that we needed to rethink our concept of timeliness — it's right now, not tomorrow morning — and the importance of attracting more readers to our website, he was on board and steering. Who was Dave Erdman? He was the guy calling in late at night or Sunday morning to point out a typographical error in a website headline. The guy who learned from his mistakes to become a better leader every year. The guy whose responsibilities ended up extending far beyond those of most editors, even before he became publisher as well as editor. In fact, when I congratulated him not long ago on adding publisher to his title, I added, "I think." I knew that title would add even more pressure to his already pressure-packed work life. But I also knew he would address his new responsibilities with the same commitment to our public duty as journalists that has guided him for 35 years. In such turbulent times, it has been comforting to know that this is the kind of leader we have. It's unsettling to know that we won't have him anymore. As he officially leaves this week, I'm confident I speak for my colleagues in wishing him all the best in his new fight. And in thanking him for the way he fought for us. Read the full article here.