Post by Jim Johnson

It’s official. I retired as of Friday, Jan. 16. This weekend I looked back on a career that began nearly 50 years ago at The Highlander, the student newspaper at the University of California, Riverside. As I reminisced on all those years, I realized a long list of mentors helped nurture my passion for journalism. Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to work with exceptional mentors. Michele McLellan, my first editor at UC Riverside, taught me reporting fundamentals. At The Press-Enterprise, editors like Tim Hays and Marcia McQuern instilled the ethics and dedication to quality that separate great newspapers from good ones. At the Omaha World-Herald, John Gottschalk taught me that we are stewards of our newspapers and that stewardship demands integrity in everything we do. Bridget, a talented newspaper woman in her own right, has been by my side every step of the way, especially as my partner when we bought two newspapers in Iowa. We showed that community newspapers can produce quality journalism rivaling much larger publications. Over the years, I've worked with hundreds of reporters and hope I passed on the wisdom my mentors so generously gave me. These journalists have produced outstanding work, often under considerable financial pressure in recent years. When I talked with Orestes Baez about retirement, he offered me a long runway for a soft landing. I will continue working part time as a development coach, doing what I love most – offering guidance to reporters and editors who tell the local stories essential to democracy and community. Alan Mittelstaedt, Michele McLellan, Lee Peterson, James Jennings, Bob Webster, Jack Holley, Candysse Miller, John Kruse, Dan Anderson, Brad Mangin, Joe Gosen, Jim Normandin, Traci Bauer, Hannah C., Melissa Thorud, Orestes Baez, Wendy Weitzel, Alec Hamilton, Sophia Voight, Daryl Schepanski, Bill Conley, Matt Bryant, David Swartzlander, Stacy Moreland, Mike Sunnucks, Mike Detmer, Mike Starling, Kerrie Robinson, Bob Woodward, Maggie Trovato, Melissa Matczak, Jeff Gauger, Gretchen Teske, Gage Miskimen, Rebecca Roberts, Alexandra Hayne, Angie Slosiarek