The time I almost gave up and the man who saved me

My career in journalism may never have been if not for Jack Brown, publisher of the Norwalk Reflector from 19878-1994 and who sadly passed away some years ago. Twice he intervened in ways that impacted not only my career but literally changed my life. The first was in the early '80s when I determined industry wasn't for me and that writing was my call. I was working freelance, primarily writing articles for magazines such as Ohio Fisherman and Fur-Fish-Game and landed a weekly fishing column in the Reflector. It didn't pay much but it was a crack in the door to a full-time job at the local daily newspaper. I begged for chances to prove I could do more than just write about fishing, and finally editor Kevin Tanzillo wore down and sent me on a few assignments for the paper. So when an opening came up in the newsroom I figured I had a great shot at the job. But Kevin didn't see it that way and was going to look elsewhere, until Jack Brown intervened. Years later, when I was leaving the Reflector to join the Register, Kevin told me he would never have hired me but Jack insisted. Jack told him he saw something in me that reminded him of himself. Kevin thought Jack was crazy. "I saw you as a fishing writer and that's it. But Jack was right." My career moved on and I gained more experience. With no false humility, I was an excellent reporter, winning numerous UPI and AP awards, including several first-place for feature writing. But to advance I needed to gain management experience, something I had during my time in industry but not in a newsroom. Then Thom Mezick came calling. Thom was owner of First Amendment Inc., which operated The Printery and published the New London Record, Dressage & CT magazine and the Firelands Farmer, a weekly agricultural newspaper that circulated into seven NW Ohio counties. It was summertime, the busiest time of year for the Firelands Farmer, and Thom was in a jam. His editor had suddenly quit without notice and he had no one to put the next edition together. He'd asked around and decided I was his man. "But I don't know anything about farming!" I protested. "That's okay," he said."I can teach you about farming. But right now I just need someone who can get this newspaper out."The thought of learning the ins-and-outs of agriculture appealed to me, but the thought of leaving daily news did not. Then Thom laid out the details. I'd be in charge of all aspects of the Farmer's coverage and design and a small staff of full- and part-time writers and a graphics department. I would assign and edit all stories, usually writing the main cover story myself, and ensure that all seven counties were covered. I also would lay out the paper, write headlines and cutlines for photos, most of which I took, as well as write a weekly column. It was also fair season, which meant I had to haul a trailer to each of the seven counties' events and set up a booth where we hawked subscriptions to the Firelands Farmer. Fairs were the lifeblood of the paper in the summer and where we got most of our new subscribers. Our coverage included posting the winners of every competition, including photos of the grand and reserve champions in each class. Of course at the time I didn't realize just how much work gathering those names and photos would be. The thought of being my own boss and learning how to manage a newspaper seemed invaluable, especially when Thom told me the job came with a nice raise AND a company car. SOLD! There was no time to waste. When Thom said the previous editor had quit suddenly, he wasn't kidding. I had five days to put together a newspaper and arrived to find dozens of photos of the current fair's champions piled haphazardly on the desk, with no identifications of any kind. Worse, I didn't know what, if any, stories had been assigned and to who, and I had four days to fill 64 pages. I didn't know where anything was, who I could lean on for help, what the production cycle was like — was the paper laid out throughout the week or all at once before publication? — and most of all, where to begin. Even worse, I had to take a couple of days away from the office to set up the trailer at the fair and sell the paper as well as let readers meet the new (farming-ignorant) editor. I had no time to spare in trying to get the paper out; the last thing I needed was to waste two days sitting in a trailer. I went home that night and cried. I told my wife I was in over my head, that I couldn't do it. I couldn't go back to the Register with my tail between my legs, even if they'd have me. But I was desperate and so I turned once more to Jack Brown, begging him for a job at the Reflector. I explained the whole situation and was practically sobbing as I implored him to take me back. I will never forget what he said. "There will always be a place for Bob Russ at the Norwalk Reflector. But the Bob Russ I know wouldn't give up so easily. You're not even giving yourself a chance. You go back to the Firelands Farmer and you use your brain and your ability to figure it out. And I know you will. If for some reason it doesn't work out, the Reflector will be here for you. But you owe it to yourself to at least try. So you go in to work tomorrow and give it another shot. And then if it doesn't work out, give me a call, but not before." His words made me feel ashamed and energized at the same time. He had so much faith in me! Why didn't I have that faith in myself? I went to work the next day with a "how can I make this work?" attitude instead of "how can I possibly do this?", and took charge. I contacted all writers to see what they were working on and assigned articles for the next couple of weeks. I sent my full-timer to the fair with the photos in hopes she could come up with identifications for them. I cranked out an introductory column and interviewed a local dairy farm and took photos for the front-page story. A wire service for agricultural newspapers, along with press releases from various farm organizations, helped fill the rest of the pages and I even managed to set up the trailer that evening. I still had much to do and a long way to go and I still was terrified. But now I knew deep down that I could do it and that changed everything.If not for Jack's wisdom, my career may have stalled permanently. And realizing you can't overcome a challenge without challenging yourself has helped me throughout my life, especially in light of all my health problems. There are moments in everyone's life where we just want to give up. Giving up is easy but it has no rewards. Instead, embrace the challenge and give it all you've got. You may find you had a lot more to give than you thought, • You can reach Bob at bobdotruss@gmail.com