Oatis, Reuters Americas desk editor, is retiring

Jonathan Oatis, a desk editor for Reuters America, sent out the following to his colleagues:

Friends and colleagues,

As many of you know, I’m retiring. Dec. 28 will be my final day of work after 34 years here, 10 years with the Associated Press, and time at the Greenville (South Carolina) News and a community weekly in coastal Maine.

I’ve had a lot of fun — learning something new nearly every day, crafting the occasionally clever headline and, most of all, working with some of the smartest, wittiest, nicest people in the business. I believe journalism is indeed the first rough draft of history, and that good stories can effect change, which has made the work meaningful as well as enjoyable.

I turned 70 last April and considered retiring then. But I began covering or editing presidential campaign stories in 1980, and I couldn’t resist working on one last White House run. It was well worth it.

For me, Reuters represented not one job, but a series of gigs with the same employer. In my early days as a general and political news desker, I learned to write in British English as well as American English. After the desk moved to Washington in the mid-90s, I worked on the Reuters Business Report, getting an education in business and financial journalism. (I also started a five-year adjunct professorship at Columbia’s j-school.)

After a stint as the first in-house editor of Reuters’ online internet and technology reports, I landed one of my best posts: working on the News2Web editorial system project in London from 2000-2004. My family and I spent four wonderful years in Britain, making lifelong friends and exploring Europe. I followed that up with a yearlong posting in Bengalaru running a global economic polling team, where we forged more friendships and experienced a fascinating culture.

Since returning to the States in 2006, I’ve mostly desked but there’ve been other jobs, including deputy Top News editor, Front Page editor, Reuters.com online editor and Legal News desk editor.

The list of people I could recognize for their support and friendship over the years is long, and I’d probably inadvertently leave someone out, so I’ll shout out just two people: my father, 47-year AP veteran, Cold War press hero, U.N. correspondent and role model William Oatis, whom I occasionally accompanied into the U.N. bureau on weekends starting around age 12 (He’d put me to work ripping and sorting wire copy), and the late Keith Leighty, who was my boss at RBR and became one of my closest friends.

As for those I haven’t named, you know who you are. Thanks for everything and stay in touch.

I’d be remiss in not recognizing the good work of the NewsGuild and my fellow NewsGuild members to ensure we get paid fairly and enjoy decent working conditions. And, to this day, I truly believe the union’s efforts ultimately benefit the company.

Allbest,
Jonathan