Thanks for all the kind words, folks

    Yes, blog regulars, you did read much of this piece earlier in the week. But people who don't do blogs (a much larger number among newspaper readers) missed it, and there is some new material in it, at the beginning and the end. Not much, I'll admit, but some...

By BRAD WARTHEN
Editorial Page Editor
ONE OF THE tough things about getting laid off in a very public way is that you can’t get your work done — you can’t even walk down the street — for all the wonderful people who come up to you and say kind things. (Never mind the phone calls, e-mails and letters.)
    Of course, it’s also the best thing about the experience, so don’t stop, folks. It doesn’t get old.
    I’ve heard from everyone from Gov. Mark Sanford (yes, he was very kind and cordial, despite all those things I say about him) to old friends I worked with decades ago, far away from here. And I appreciated every one of them.
    For those of you who missed it, I was in the news last week, along with a lot of my colleagues. To quote from thestate.com:

    The State Media Co. today announced the layoff of 38 people — 11 percent of its work force — and wage reductions ranging from 2.5 percent to 10 percent for the rest of the employees.
    Among those laid off were three vice presidents including editorial page editor Brad Warthen.

    My last day is March 20.
    For those of you who ask “why,” the answer is simple: The money’s just not there, and somebody had to go. I was one of the 38. You might say, to borrow a phrase from the Corleone family, this isn’t personal; it’s strictly business.
    I’ve tried to keep readers on my blog in the loop about the profound changes going on in the newspaper industry, which have been accelerating. I’ve written about everything from the departures of longtime friends and colleagues who are not replaced, to the horrific news sweeping the industry more recently, with some newspapers going under.
    This has not been a comfortable thing for me to do. For one thing, I always wonder how much my readers will care. Someone I respected in college — actually, he taught a course in editorial writing that I took — warned us that when one talks about one’s own industry, one runs the risk of boring one’s audience.
    (So, what I try to explain when I do talk about it is that this is about you, too. Newspapers reflect their communities in more ways than simply publishing news and commentary. We also reflect our surroundings economically. Newspapers went into this recession in a weakened condition, and now we’re like the canary in the coal mine. If you’re hurting, we’re hurting. And vice versa, whether you realize it or not.)
    For another reason, I recognize my own lack of detachment.
    Finally, there is such a delicate balance to strike between telling all that I know or imagine I know, which is my instinct as a journalist, and respecting the confidentiality of things I know only because I’m an officer of this company — which gives me both an unfair advantage and a responsibility to those I work with. It can be awkward.
    Anyway, in spite of that, I’ve tried to be frank about the situation whenever I’m asked — and on the blog, even when I’m not.
    I leave here with a deep love for this newspaper, which I hope has been evident over the past couple of decades. It seems to have been evident to my boss — President and Publisher Henry Haitz — judging by the kind and gracious things he had to say about my service in his note on this page on Wednesday. (Sample: “He is a remarkable journalist and writer, with keen understanding of the issues most vital to our community and our state.”)
    And I appreciate that.
    What will I do next? I don’t know. I’ll be spreading my resume around, online and otherwise. In the meantime, give me a holler if you hear of a suitable position. One advantage I have over so many people who are looking for work now — more than 200,000 in South Carolina, I heard last week — is that a huge portion of the state has watched me on the job and formed a pretty detailed impression of my capabilities. (Of course, whether that works for me or against me depends on the individual reader.)
    I can tell you this much — I have zero intention of “relocating,” to use an ugly word. When I came to the state of my birth in 1987 after years in this business in Tennessee and Kansas, I did so with the intention of staying for good. My days as a newspaper vagabond were over. Either things worked out at The State, or I would find some other line of work. And the thing is, things worked out very well.
    The day I was interviewed here (for the job of governmental affairs editor), I told then-Executive Editor Tom McLean that my ultimate goal was to become editorial page editor. I believed that position offered the greatest opportunity to serve my state, which I believed needed its largest newspaper to have a strong, frank, lively editorial page. Thanks to Tom, I got my chance to do just that 10 years later, and I could not be more proud of the team I have had the privilege of working with, or the excellent job they have done — and that those who remain will continue to do, if I know them. (And I do.)
    Obviously, this is a stressful time, but beneath it all is something that I don’t quite know how to describe, a sort of anticipation driven by curiosity. I wonder, with great interest, what will happen next. (That sounds either terribly trite or unintelligible; I can’t tell which, but I explained it as well as I could.)
    So much for this subject today. This will not be my last column. For one thing, I promised you last week to write something about U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett’s candidacy for governor. I was going to do that for today, but I got distracted again. I’m sure you’ll understand.

For now, please visit thestate.com/bradsblog/ for more about this subject and everything else. Watch there to learn about my future blogging plans.

Comments

[Randy E]

I'm still thinking teacher, school newspaper advisor, and part-time blogger.

Good luck in whatever you do and I hope you find peace soon.

[Brad Warthen]

Thanks, Randy.

[Karen McLeod]

Trying to "save" The State by shrinking its offerings is like trying to save the bus system by cutting routes and times while raising prices. The less the state offers the fewer readers it will have. I for one, don't care to pay for what has become mostly advertising. I hope The State still has the resources to turn around. In that respect, Brad, you are better off than they are.

[Marshall Lawson]

Globalist, Brad Warthen, had no sympathy for the thousands of textile workers and other South Carolinians employed in manufacturing who saw their jobs terminated over the past three decades by so called free trade. These dumb Southerners were simply the necessary victims of a new world order where nationhood and citizenship took a backseat to the internationalist rhetoric of the journalistic elites. Nor did Mr. Warthen and the other open borders hacks at The State lift an eyebrow when thousands of other South Carolinians were fired and replaced by illegal aliens. And when any job came open in Columbia, from the President of U.S.C. to the head of the art museum, Warthen was the first to demand the job be filled with a transplant or even better someone residing in another state or country.

I don’t like to see anyone fired from their job but we all reap what we sow in this world and it appears that Karma finally caught up with Brad Warthen and The State.

[Robert Friedman]

What an arrogant sh*t. Good riddance!

[Randy E]

If Karma is in play, the pigs flying overhead will drop dung on Marshall Lawson as he exits his relatively new SUV on his way into a nice restaurant for a $50 dinner.

The illegal aliens demagoguery is mindless ditto-head chatter reflecting a lack of critical thought and undermines any valid point that was attempted.

[Randy E]

clarification: the pigs flying reference is meant to symbolize that Marshall's thoughts were far fetched

[Claudia]

Brad - if you start up another blog, please let the (ir)regulars know via email. I generally skirt the nutburger-posts, but there are a number of insightful people who have shared their thoughts on this blog. I've enjoyed and learned from them (even when we disagreed) and hope to encounter them again.

My best to you and your family as you continue your journey.

[jfx]

Marshall Lawson, you know damn well that your easy, cheap victimization rhetoric has a deep history here in SC that pre-dates either The State or Brad Warthen. Get off it, man. Grow up.

The truth is, you need people like Brad, and entities like The State, to demonize and flagellate, so you can feel cozy in the rationalization that there really is an evil New World Order out there trying to overthrow your idyllic, xenophobic Confederatopia.

Things change. Demographics change. Business models change. Cultures and economies change. The world of paper print media has been helped toward obsolescence by the stunning success of virtualization and the Information Age. That's not karma. It's reality.

If karma were real, Mr. Lawson, you'd reap the bitterness of your pathetic, unnecessary comment sown above by receiving a swift kick in the groin from the next ethnic South Carolinian you pass on the street. But, of course, karma isn't real, and odds are good your heart will seize up from all the sludge in your diet well before you're ever held accountable for being a bitter, regressive a-hole.

[Brad Warthen]

I suppose I could tell Marshall I'm going to report him to the Pentavirate, but he might actually worry about it, so I won't. I don't want to cause anybody any sleepless nights.

[Claudia]

At the risk of being called a dittohead... yeah, what he (jfx) said! Nicely put, man.

[murraywood]

Is it my imagination or has the vitriol reached a zenith here? Now that Brad is half way out of the door the real shitkickers come out of the outhouse. Kudos on a job well done, Brad. And do keep us informed of where your new blog can be found. You do have a lot of fans out here -

[Joe]

I was a long time subscriber to The State, but stopped my subscription when the anti white bigotry seeped into all sections.

I would still look at it if left on table in a coffee shop, mainly the sports and letters to the editor, but thesee were always edited and chosen to support the anti whitey anti Southern meme.

When the blame whitey morphed into the crucify whitey and disparage all things southern, that was the farewell to the state tabloid.

Now the online is place to see the flame mouths deliciously mangle some poster messenger content and character, splay and flay some deluded fool who posted ideas or facts of content and substance that are repugnant to the self annointed moral arbiters.

Always find here very certain answers to all the moral, ethical and political questions of the past 8000 years of civilization.

Evidently there are some smart fellas and fellettes in South Carolina, or, are they all transplants from some superior place and time?

[Rich]

Joe,

Just shut up. You clearly have nothing to say and reading the State will not improve your racist mind.

I have the State delivered every day to my door. I put it under my arm, pore over it, and inform my high school students about what it has to say today.

Thank you, Brad, for being there for us all these years. And thank you State newspaper, so aptly symbolized by Gonzales, who was assassinated in the line of duty so that a free press might exist in this benighted state.

Dum spiro, spero.

[penultimo mcfarland]

The State makes rather an empty bible, doesn't it, Rich?

You wouldn't know a racist if you saw one in the mirror.

While you breathe, you foul the air.

[Lee Muller]

Brad,
Good luck. Use what you can learn from this blog to figure out how to start a new blog that earns you a profit, or at least promotes your career.

Marshall Lawson may have been harsh, but he gave it to you straight. The chattering class decided that our textile industry was obsolete, then proceeded to drive it out of business with interest-free IMF loans to build new competing factories under corrupt regimes in Asia, Africa and Central America.

Self-loathing white liberals had a dilemma in whether to support illegal aliens from Mexico, or the blacks whose jobs were being give to these cheaper illegal workers. The solution was to follow the talking points from liberals on high at the NY Times, think tanks and other mouthpieces for globalism.

Being the mouthpiece for illiterates and degenerates is not a good business model. The media which is thriving is pro-American, pro-free-market, and upholding of families and morality.

Take that lesson to your next job, and you will prosper.

[Val]

Brad;
We poor old SC White boys are not sad to see you go. We hope you take John Monk and the rest of your self-hating crowd with you.
Now we need a well-heeled South Carolinian, with an appreciation of who we are, to buy this rag of a newspaper and turn it in to something real South Carolinians can appreciate.

[Jerry Jewler]

I'm just getting to the end of Barbara Walters' massive biography, "Audition," and there's the Dalai Lama chatting with Walters, and offering his advice about a good life: Be happy and have compassion. My compassion goes out to you because of your untiring efforts to bring some sense to national and state events. In one way or another, your words have always touched me emotionally. I've been irritated with you on occasion, and I've praised you on others for filtering out the garbage and sharing your intelligent thoughts with us. One of those times when I was angry at you was when you wrote about John Edwards being a phony. And look what happened later! Brad, you're a talented journalist and I wish you the best. If there is a position at any publication worthy of your talents, I'm certain you will win the job. Best of luck. Jerry

[Randy E]

Val offers some great suggestions:

The State should replace the palmetto tree in its emblem with a confederate battle flag.

Replace the National and World news sections with Heritage and Dixie sections.

The Living section should devote itself to the Catfish Stomp and Confederate Day reenactments with McConnell as the beat reporter.

Perhaps the education section could use Val's perspective as a reason critical thinking should be a higher priority in our schools and the SAT word of the day could be "provincialism."

[Birch Barlow]

Now we need a well-heeled South Carolinian, with an appreciation of who we are, to buy this rag of a newspaper and turn it in to something real South Carolinians can appreciate.

Apparently that would be a protectionist xenophobe based on the last few comments on this post.

No thanks.

[Lee Muller]

Derisive terms like "protectionism" and "xenophobe" are used to avoid intelligent discussion by dismissing all the other parties.

I hope you don't fall into the trap of doing that, Mr. Barlow.

[martin]

Rich, Lee, p.m./weldon/penultimo... Are you guys oblivious to the fact you are the same PERSONALITY, with different politics, or do you know?

[Lee Muller]

Wrong, martin.

I am an entrepreneur, who believes in live and let live. I, and others like me, only show up to DEFEND our freedom against the aggressive criminal personalities of those who think they are entitled to our labor and wealth.

If it were not for the aggression of socialists, the NRA would once again be a social hobby club, and there would be no need for legal defense funds, AM talk radio, etc.

[Capital A]

Mr. Warthen (formerly, and never-after to be called "Warthime"),

As a Douglas Adams fan, I say this fondly, and not entirely flippantly: So long and thanks for all the fish.

This blog, your blog, reignited my spark to be politically active once again. The topics you presented over the last half-decade, and the ensuing reactions showed me undeniably that there are negative, even evil forces, afoot in this state that people like me, and people much smarter and more righteous than myself should oppose and in a visible manner.

From the not-entirely-veiled, racist rants of people like Lee, to the fanatically conservative tirades of people like Fart, Knave and pms, to the generally honorable though often confuzzled offerings of people like Herb, to the Palin-ish cluelessness of the Ish Beverly-Mental-Hillbillies of the world, your blog reminded me that each of those archetypes must be countered; there must be a balance to the blogoverse and to political discourse. Opposition must always exist so that truth and enlightenment is born out of that neverending struggle.

I know you have public misgivings about whether or not your blog did any good, and I have to say that it was good for me as a writer, a teacher and a person.

You are the Everyman, and if you knew me and not just my impassioned rambles on this blog for the past half-decade, you would know that is me paying you the highest compliment. You are evidence of the most horrid of ironies that millions of Americans, everyday heroes, in point of fact, are facing today -- people who have lost their jobs due to the corruption and ineptness of an administration that they supported or voted into office twice.

Your story is the current American "un-success" story. Unlike most, however, you have the talents and connections to teach others about the collective error of you and those like you who supported this past president, even unto your own ruin...or, at the very least, personal discord. You have the power to inform, and I hope you use that ability in your next career for the general good, much as how you have cajoled everyone to consider the shortcomings of our elderly-pandering, Myspace addicted Lt. Governor and just plain incompetent Governor.

Though some of the cowardly, conservative sycophants (many of whom have only now, at the eleventh hour, summoned the "courage" to post their soul-simmering vitriol)are taking this opportunity to hit you with cheap shots on your way out of the door, you're not the insider nor the straw man they want you to be.

You're not the Big Lebowski; you're "the Dude" -- slightly above average and well-meaning in all acts, like so many of the rest of us.

I have no worries for your future because without a doubt, one single truth exists concerning our current epoch: The Dude abides.

To paraphrase the finest example of a journalist ever to grace your field as he, himself, quoted Queen Elizabeth: Good night and good luck, Mr. Warthen.

[jfx]

Lee Muller wrote:

"The media which is thriving is pro-American, pro-free-market, and upholding of families and morality.

Take that lesson to your next job, and you will prosper."

Yep. There ya go, Brad. If only you had filled the editorial page with James Dobson, Tony Perkins, and Wayne LaPierre, McClatchy wouldn't have had nationwide layoffs and you'd have cozy tenure in a thriving, Pro-American newspaper. Damn your self-hating liberal impulses that made you go and torpedo your own career by printing the rantings of Socialist America-haters like David Brooks and Charles Krauthammer! For shame, Brad! Why didn't you uphold families and morality better?!