It’s time to say goodbye. After more than 50 years in the news industry–mostly in print, but with some radio thrown in–it’s time to put the traditional newspaper sign for the end of a story (-30-) to my career.
It’s been a hell of a ride between my early days at the now-defunct Paterson (NJ) Evening News and my final days at DIRECT.
In between there were stints at the old New York Journal-American; the Ridgewood (NJ) News; the old Herald-News of Passaic, NJ, where I rose from reporter to bureau chief and legal affairs writer, award-winning editorial page columnist and, briefly, acting night city editor; at WINS Radio in New York as editorial director, the broadcast equivalent of editorial page editor and chief editorial writer; and as a postal/government affairs writer for DM News.
My association with each of those organizations, despite a sometimes heavy workload and long, exhausting hours, was not only fun and rewarding but generated a lot of fond memories of the people I worked with and for, the people I met and the events I covered.
Although I will miss the daily grind and the men and women of DIRECT, I will now have more time for my family and those things I’ve always wanted to do but never had the time for–like trout fishing, woodworking, painting, photography and catching up on my reading.
In between I just might find the time to write a piece or two, maybe more, for DIRECT just to keep my hand at reporting.
Looking back, if I had to choose one person, one event I covered as the highlight of my career, it would have to be Pope John Paul II’s first visit to the United States in 1979. Yes, it was hectic, but personally the most moving. Shortly after he met with and blessed the more than 300 reporters from around the world covering his trip, I found myself standing next to him, literally shoulder to shoulder. It was a feeling of serenity that I shall never forget. I recall thinking this is the closest I would ever get to God.
All the other people and events I covered before or after that, although many were memorable, paled by comparison. They included the international scene at the United Nations; Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan; the diplomatic aspects of the British-Argentine war over the Falkland Islands; and the ever-present Arab-Israeli wars.
In addition, there were the triple murders and subsequent trial of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter; a Russian spy trial; the criminal trials of former U.S. Attorney John Mitchell and Maurice Stans, the former U.S. Secretary of Commerce; the racketeering and murder trials of former union official and reputed mob boss Anthony Provenzano; the national nursing home scandals of the 1970s; and, of course, the Abscam trials, where several members of Congress were convicted of taking bribes from federal agents posing as Arab sheiks.
And like many other reporters I’ve had many, many skirmishes with assorted politicians and high-ranking government officials–including various law enforcement agencies, some of which I worked with in an unofficial capacity (and in one instance served for a time as an acting deputy U.S. Marshal)–over the public’s right to know, the creed reporters live by.
To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, if I had a choice between a secret government and a free press–coupled with the public’s right to know–I would chose a free press.
The press–the news industry–may have its faults, but it keeps us informed so we can make intelligent decisions about our lives and our leaders.
I’m glad I was fortunate enough to be a part of it. But that’s all behind me now. It’s time to say goodbye, to write “30” on a career of 50 years and to begin a new chapter in my life.
-30-
Paul M. Alberta has been a contributing writer for DIRECT since 1997.
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