PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.
I was shocked to learn this morning that the Salem Statesman-Journal (S-J) was laying off its editorial page editor Dick Hughes after more than 34 years at the newspaper.
The S-J, perhaps already a shell of its former self as is the case with many other newspapers around the country in a digital age, will not be same without Dick. His work as a committed journalist was a highlight for me every day in the newspaper.
I first knew him when I worked for state government about 30 years ago and Dick covered state government for the S-J.
One of my tasks for a number of state agencies, including a governor’s office, was to deal with the media. Thus, I dealt a lot with Dick and, while we have had differences over policy and outlook, he always was imminently fair.
He was, appropriately for a journalist, a skeptic of state government. Not a cynic. A skeptic.
I say that because, when I reported for a daily newspaper a long time ago, I tried to be a skeptic, as well, believing that was an appropriate role for a watchdog of the people.
In state government, I worked for a manager who once said that the easiest thing to do with regard to government “was to be a cynic.”
Dick wasn’t a cynic.
As I watched him move from being a reporter to an editor and eventually editor of the editorial page for the S-J (not to mention a “content coach”), I noted a few aspects of his character:
- He was an honest as the day was long. If he didn’t know something, he would find out.
- He was inquisitive, always interested in finding our new information about old and new topics.
- He was particularly good at using the right words, as well as using them with an appropriate commitment to solid grammar and syntax.
- He readily shared information about his own Christian faith, a commitment that found its way into his own reporting and editing.
For the Statesman-Journal, there will be no way to replace Dick’s history and journalistic ethics.
His departure is a great loss for the Statesman-Journal. It is also a great loss for the Salem community.
But I am confident that Dick will land a new gig. He is too good to be silent.
Perspective from the 19th Hole 
I agree with you, Dave. Dick would ask questions that could cause you to believe he opposed you in every respect. That often was not so yet his readers were well-served because the issue was thoroughly explored. The S-J’s readers are the losers.