When the kids came to visit the paper

It's a slow-ish day here at the Star (it feels SO much better to call my work by the brand everyone knows!).  Everyone's off tomorrow, the ad insertion deadlines have passed, so those of us on duty are simply here getting ahead for next week (also will be slow).

I invited my husband and kids to come down for lunch in the cafeteria.  This is the second time they've visited.  There are so many cool things for them to see and experience - the presses running, the art department ("This is where art HAPPENS!" squealed my daughter, the artist.  And, of course, the newsroom, where you can feel its very pulse. 

We were lucky to run into a reporter friend of mine.  I've known him since I was in high school and he had a profound impact on the course of my life, by virtue of his being in the right place at the right time and taking me seriously about a story.  Doug Kreutz is his name.  He's tall, lanky, older and writing as much as he ever was.  He's less hard news and more features now.  Today he was writing a story about easy hikes in the Tucson area.  The kids got to see his story and photos.  He told them it will be in this Sunday's paper.  They were awestruck.  We also got to meet the newly appointed editor, Bobbie Jo Buel.  My oldest daughter commented loudly after meeting her that "I didn't know ladies got to be the BIG boss!"  Oh, my...  I worked with Gloria Steinham back in the day at AOL, and we got "Take our Daughters to Work Day" off the ground online.  Looks like I may need to do that here as well.

I was hoping to run into Dave Fitzsimmons.  He is our paper's award winning cartoonist, and has a wicked sense of humor and talks like Robin Williams on crack.   He wasn't in, but I know my youngest son would have wanted to be his best friend.  Dave is so important to our paper's brand, and is a great ambassador for news with the younger generation.  His personable demeanor and high energy level makes you want to drop everything and join the circus paper.

Between the press room, the art department, the news room, the technology support and development, and advertising and marketing, there is something to appeal to each of my kids.  I love that they can all envision themselves working here.  Maybe I will have fourth generation newsies after all...