There's no crying in journalism

Guest Post by Jean Bolduc

As of this writing, I have yet to receive my actual letter of termination from the Herald-Sun (how appropriate - not by email or fax, it will come through the slogging U.S. mail). I do trust in the conveyance of my editor, Neil Offen, that it is on the way and that its contents are as he represented them to me - that my services are no longer required.

All the blah, blah, blah about the Herald-Sun's Editor (Bob Ashley) and his shifting explanations about my exit are available on my ever-so-controversial blog. Please do stay tuned to see what the soap opera will deliver next, but I wanted to use this space just to say thanks.

For the last six years I have enjoyed an enlightening ongoing chat with the readers in this community, one which I hope will now simply shift (typing joke) into a new venue. I have shared my experiences and insights on everything from schools to suicide, from politics to puppies. I have worked this writing muscle of mine every week for about 300 weeks. I am profoundly grateful to The Chapel Hill Herald for its role as my personal trainer. I especially appreciate the good faith and humor of Catherine Wright while she was editor there and I was covering Carrboro and writing my column as well. She is a terrific editor, a total professional and a good friend.

I deeply appreciate the emails of condolence, support and outrage recently and over the years. I also want to express my own heartfelt gratitude for those who have disagreed with me and taken the time to thoughtfully say so.

We don't pay enough attention to the profound value of respectful dissent and responsible discussion of public policy disagreement. It is indeed most alarming to me that the Herald-Sun cannot manage to tolerate my independently fussing at them. The newspaper business is no place for the thin-skinned.

And so, onto the blogging scene and new horizons. Looking forward to the Feb. 12th conference at the J-school. May the force be with you.

Jean is a freelance writer in Chapel Hill, NC, the owner of Pen & Inc communications and occasional commentator on WCHL 1360 am radio. She can be found online at jeanbolduc.blogspot.com .