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Change is a good thing.
That’s what I tell myself when something is happening that I’m not that happy about. And of course, it’s true. Change is a great thing—personally and professionally.
Still, it can be tough.
That was the case when we celebrated IBJ reporter John Russell’s retirement a couple of weeks ago at Coaches Tavern. A big crowd of current and former journalists turned out for the party to toast a journalist who spent the last nine years of his career at IBJ but also wrote for the Chicago Tribune, The Indianapolis Star and Akron Beacon Journal.
John is a veteran reporter who has been all the things that are great about old-school journalists. His goal was to hold his sources and institutions accountable and to uncover truths that companies and government were hiding from the public. John changed with the times, adapting to new deadlines, new technologies and new science on his health care and utilities beats. But he never lost sight of the larger mission or let modern journalism wash from him that bit of news curmudgeon that I’ve always loved (even if maybe his sources did not).
I appreciated that his desk was always messy (though not as bad as mine), but the papers never piled up so high that you couldn’t see this quote from former Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan:
“Journalists simply can’t allow themselves to be megaphones or stenographers. They have to be dedicated truth-tellers, using clear language, plenty of context and thoughtful framing to get that truth across.”
I’m thrilled that when John walked out of IBJ for the last time, he left that quote behind to inspire the rest of us.
I have been honored to work alongside John and learn from him. I’m better at what I do because of John, and I know our readers have been better informed because of him.
We’ve known for months that John planned to retire at the end of the year, and I’ve been worried about filling his position. It’s tough to find someone with significant experience who is either already in this area or is willing to move.
But fortunately for IBJ and our readers, an experienced reporter who left media for more than a dozen years decided at about the time John was leaving that he wanted back in journalism. Daniel Lee previously covered health care for The Indianapolis Star and also worked at the San Jose Mercury News, The Times of Northwest Indiana and The Star Press in Muncie before he took a break for a long stint creating content for SRAM LLC, a bicycle components company that makes Zipp wheels in Indianapolis.
Dan was inspired to get back into reporting in part by one of his daughters, who is working for the Purdue Exponent in West Lafayette. Dan applied for a different opening we had, but we knew instantly he would be a perfect fit for John’s job. And we’re thrilled he said yes.
Dan, welcome to the IBJ family.
We’re also excited to welcome Holly Hays, who has filled the job of IBJ news editor. Holly comes to IBJ from The Indianapolis Star, where she most recently covered pop culture and entertainment but had previously covered public safety, child welfare and city government. She was also an interim editor there.
At IBJ, she is helping to oversee breaking news and daily stories for the website and email newsletters. Welcome, Holly!
You can reach Holly at hhays@ibj.com and Dan at dlee@ibj.com. We look forward to your story ideas.•
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Weidenbener is editor of IBJ and assistant publisher of IBJ and the Indiana Lawyer. Reach her at lweidenbener@ibj.com.
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