Sunday, February 3, 2002
To Simonds,
the reader came firstI was a "Simonds hire," one of dozens of reporters, editors and photographers so labeled because of the man who gave us jobs at the Star-Bulletin.
The tag was assigned by some "old-timers" who saw us as interlopers in a newsroom that had been shaken when its local owners sold the newspaper to a mainland outfit. To them, John Simonds was the symbol of the new regime of corporate ownership. He shouldn't have been because his roots remained deep in traditional journalism even as profit margins became the measure of a newspaper's success and marketing became the media mantra.
John was a demanding boss, but if you had a legitimate beef, he'd listen and fix it. Through the years and various editorships, John always kept his focus on the reason newspapers exist -- to serve the reader. It is fitting then that his last job has been reader representative, albeit for the other newspaper in town.
John Simonds retired Friday and his former co-workers at the Star-Bulletin salute him for his dedication to newspapering. We "Simonds hires" wear the brand with pride.
--Cynthia S. Oi