Leader co-owner Tom Mullen’s thoughtful editorial two weeks ago about the newspaper business’ increasing editorial and ownership struggles summoned up the considerable upside and positive memories of my own 50 years in this ever-struggling business.

I’ve been exceedingly fortunate while working at various daily newspapers and lucky for all the kind and noteworthy people I’ve met covering different beats. 

I assembled this admittedly self-indulgent, accurate, newsroom chronology, which includes some of the many famous and interesting people I’ve interviewed. (Warning: Namedropping alert! )

1: College newspaper sports editor. Highlight: I named the gym at Colorado State University. I thought the brand-new facility looked cetacean, so I called it Moby Gym in a column. The name stuck. It’s now official. 

2: Sportswriter, Waterloo (Iowa) Courier: My first post-college gig. Got to type local bowling scores at 8 a.m. and was spared by leaving after six months.

3: Sports Editor, Pocono Record (Pa.) Daredevil Evel Knievel, opening Pocono Raceway nearby, pulled his pants down at my sports desk to show me his multiple scars. Impressive? Raced outta there after nine months.

4: Sports writer, Rock Critic, Montreal Gazette: My very first day at the large daily, Canadian soldiers surrounded the Gazette building. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had declared martial law after a British official was kidnapped by French Quebec separatists. Things got better: I got to cover and ride in the Stanley Cup parade after the powerful Montreal Canadiens won their fourth straight Cup. A Canadian dream.  I also covered the city’s now-departed National League baseball team, the Montreal Expos. That included learning baseball terms in French (e.g.,a knuckleball en francais is a papillon.) Best of all, I  interviewed the Expos broadcaster — Jackie Robinson. Great, sweet man. It was the last interview the famed Civil Rights pioneer ever gave: he died, sadly, two weeks later. I was then switched to being the Gazette’s rock-music critic. I interviewed Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and other megagroups. Cat Stevens (not so mellow here) threatened to punch me after my unfavorable review of his album in English. I got invited to a post-concert party in the Rolling Stones’ hotel rooms at the Ritz-Carlton. Also: Saw a lecture by author Tom Wolfe accompanied by, of all people, Cheech and Chong.  I did a rock show on a French-language radio station, also authored a book of Canadian jokes. I then wrote a Canadian TV comedy for the Global Network along with brilliant Canadian Sean Kelly, editor of National Lampoon. 

5: TV Critic, Honolulu Advertiser: I went a long way to escape  the Canadian cold after 10 years, and angered revered “Hawaii Five-O” star Jack Lord by committing the heresy of panning his stupid cop show. Interviewed Rod Stewart and Peter Frampton for a British tabloid at the Kahala Hilton. 

6: TV Critic, Oakland Tribune: I got to work for the first Black publisher of a major U.S. daily, The Washington Post alum Robert Maynard, who was a great guy who hired a superb newsroom staff. Great gig … I only had to go into the office one day a week, so I often got to live out a TV critic’s dream, which is spending 24 hours a day in a bathrobe. I interviewed Bob Hope every year to plug his annual NBC Christmas specials. I got to be with our two great kids a lot. Went down to the Television Critics Association fall press tour in Hollywood,  interviewed the casts of Frasier, Seinfeld, other network shows. Interviewed David Brinkley in his office — the bar. 

7: TV critic, San Francisco Examiner: After the Tribune regrettably folded, I continued covering Bay Area TV and radio, and was a regular guest on 50,000-watt KGO Radio, with its multi-state audience. Our editor Phil Bronstein’s fiancée was a regular newsroom visitor:  Actress and future wife, Sharon Stone. Plus, my offbeat feature editor wore a fez. 

8: Santa Rosa (Ca.) Press-Democrat media columnist: The only New York Times-owned paper west of the Mississippi. I had lunch with our new intern, Brown University senior A.G. Sulzberger, a nice young man. He is now the publisher of the New York Times. Also, while at the P-D, I often played golf with Santa Rosa’s most famous (and probably wealthiest) citizen — ”Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz. A classy guy. I also  hosted a Santa Rosa radio talk show. 

9: I wrote humor column for CBS MarketWatch.com in San Francisco, later became its Canada columnist. 

The Leader! 

So, as you can see, the newspaper business has brought me to some interesting places, and I’ve gotten access to a lot of interesting and famous people. I’ve been far luckier than most newspaper people. I got into print media at what was arguably the best possible time. Glad I can share all this with another solid, if smaller, newspaper audience.

Thanks for your indulgence —  and for your continued support of this fine weekly. 

PT semi-retired newspaperman Bill Mann can be reached at Newsmann9@gmail.com)