If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time in journalism, it’s to always, always double-check the spelling of “public.” If I’m allowed to say I’ve learned two things, I’d have to admit it’s true, you shouldn’t bury the lede. So I’ll skip the preliminaries and announce my official resignation as editor-in-chief of the Memphis Flyer.
When I accepted the editor gig, former Flyer editor Bruce VanWyngarden told me, “It’ll eat your life.” Or, as another colleague put it, somewhat more delicately, “There’s an element of being ‘on call’ to this job.”
Yeah, that’s true, and for the most part, I’ve loved it. Every job comes with its own kind of stress, and the stress of meeting deadlines, reworking a story, or teasing out the best way to word a complex idea is, for me, nothing less than thrilling. “Thrilling” might be underselling it a bit — it’s a kind of high. I’ve never been much of an athlete, but if a runner’s high is anything like the zap an editor gets from slicing 1,000 words from a story and hearing its author say it reads better now, well, let’s just say I can begin to understand the folks who jog even in these brutal Memphis summers.
I’ve been the one to break news of a court ruling and of an escaped wallaby. I’ve worked with Flyer writers to decide how best to tackle big issues — gun violence, reproductive rights, and Memphis beer. There’s only one free print paper in town, and being at the wheel has been a responsibility I have cherished. But for most of my life, I’ve collected responsibilities like baseball cards, and it might be time to admit I’ve become something of a responsibility hoarder.
By necessity, I’ve lived as a “duties first” person. In the past few months, my family circumstances have changed unexpectedly, and I want to try my hand at being a “family first” kind of guy. It’s a new kind of challenge, a different sort of responsibility. For most of my childhood, my parents weren’t always around — also usually by necessity. For years, my dad worked at an airline in Memphis, putting in 40-plus hours in three days’ time before turning around to drive the 90 or so miles to our little white house on the county line. He’d sleep for a day, and then we would have a few days together before he had to drive back to Memphis for half a week. My sister and I knew we were loved, but it was still tough at times.
Within the next year, my dad will turn 70, my nephew will turn 5, and I’ll get married. I want to be there for these people, really be there, not just when work allows, or be there physically albeit distractedly as I delegate some editorial tasks. I’ve answered work emails and phone calls while I was supposed to be playing dragons with my nephew, and it left me with an all-too-familiar feeling, like seeing myself on the other side of a mirror, 30 years ago. I’ve had Zoom meetings while on a long-deferred vacation with my fiancée, all while a family reunion went on downstairs. It comes with the territory. I know some people could easily juggle the different demands of family and a fast-paced job in a notoriously exacting field, but I think I might just like that aforementioned high of hitting deadlines a little too much. Might as well face it, I’m addicted to responsibility.
It might seem clichéd, but in a world where even the people who agree on most things can’t ever seem to get on the same page because of a few minor differences, I like the idea of embracing the people who choose to love me even when we don’t agree on anything. Not only that, but my fiancée and I want to start our own family before too long.
So maybe it’s selfishness or naivete, but I think I’d like to focus my energies a little more on my own group of weirdos — not that I don’t love the snarky, creative, somewhat dysfunctional Flyer family I’ve adopted in the last eight years. I do. Deeply. But I also trust them to deliver the news in true Flyer style, even if I have to miss out on the newsroom brainstorming. So I’m choosing to accept a new opportunity I’ve been granted, cherish the time I’ve spent with this wild bunch, and leave knowing the Flyer will keep flying, charting a course unlike any other paper in town.
There’s no shortage of senior talent ready to help keep this paper on course while the search for a new editor gets underway. Managing editor Shara Clark, associate editor Toby Sells, and senior editors Jon W. Sparks and Bruce VanWyngarden (remember that guy?) will make sure the same exceptional paper hits stands on time each week. And they’ll have help from Inside Memphis Business editor Samuel X. Cicci. So I feel confident about the Flyer’s future. Oh, and if you or someone you know would like to apply for the editor-in-chief position, send a resume to hr@contemporary-media.com.
In the meantime, I’m excited about the prospect of being a Flyer reader, and of finding new ways to give back to the Memphis community.
What else can I say? That’s all, folks. Thanks for reading.
