Relationship building over breakfast

By Mark Kneer

In 1994, I was informed the Southeast Missourian had hired a new editor named Joe Sullivan. Joe was coming to our organization with a vast amount of credentials and experience both as an editor and publisher. At most newspapers, editors and circulation personnel don't always see eye-to-eye, so at that time I had little reason to be excited.

The traditional battle between the two departments is old-school and time-tested. Circulation departments desire big stories and for the newsroom to meet nightly deadlines so that we can meet delivery deadlines. Editors rely on journalistic integrity and consistency. If it takes a little more time past deadline to get it right, that's OK. Thus, the battle lines are usually drawn.

I soon discovered that Joe was a different breed than the traditional editor. Upon being introduced, he looked me straight in the eye and said, "I understand that my job is to help grow circulation and I will do all I can to help you succeed in those efforts." You could have knocked me over with a feather.

True to his word, quickly after arrival, Joe set strict news deadlines and held his staff accountable to meet those deadlines -- even on the big news nights. And he did it without jeopardizing journalistic integrity and accuracy. Joe liked the big stories, too.

Over the years, the Southeast Missourian has been through several redesigns.

The results of one such redesign gave the news department three boxes above the banner to promote upcoming stories. Joe suggested we start a committee to plan and coordinate the skybox promotions between news and circulation.

We set the first committee meeting for 8 a.m. on a Friday. I brought doughnuts for the group, and as the meeting ended someone volunteered to bring treats the next Friday. That first Friday meeting started a tradition that lasted more than three years. The actual meeting only took 15 minutes; the rest of the time was spent talking and getting to know one another.

With another redesign, the skyboxes were eliminated and the committee disbanded. A few days later, Joe came to my office and said, "Do you eat breakfast?" I replied, "Of course," and he said let's plan on eating breakfast Friday morning. It did not take long before just Friday morning turned into every morning, 6:30 sharp.

Over the years and over breakfast, Joe and I have solved all the problems that have ever existed at the Southeast Missourian, Rust Communications, Southeast Missouri State University, the city of Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County and with answers that always appeared to us to be obvious solutions. Time passed and Scott Raines, from circulation, joined our breakfast group. We were like the Three Musketeers -- or the Three Stooges.

What I look forward to the most about breakfast with Joe every morning is his stories. He is a great storyteller. Many of the stories we listened to at breakfast ended up becoming part of his weekly column. So it was nice to have a sneak peek. There are so many good stories, many of which center around Joe, his lovely wife Marge and their weekend adventures. We get updates on his two very bright and successful sons, who live way too far from home. We are also entertained by funny stories involving Joe's love for electronic gadgets, home repair projects and his battles with wildlife -- mostly trying to get rid of squirrels.

And then there is Miss Kitty. When Joe first told me about a stray female cat that had been wandering in his neighborhood for days, I thought, "Oh no, not another squirrel-type problem." Just the opposite happened. Instead of trying to chase off the cat, Joe started leaving milk and food. Like most of Joe's stories, this one has a happy ending. Miss Kitty could never have found a better place to live, and the Sullivans now have the perfect cat.

As you can also imagine, many of the stories Scott and I have listened to over the years were about Joe's youth in Killough Valley. After hearing the stories so many times, Scott and I set up a system as a polite way to let Joe know we have already heard that particular story. We use simple hand signals.

When Joe starts a story we have already heard, we hold up the number of fingers indicating how many times we have already heard it. The system tells him we already know the story and he can stop. Sometimes Joe sees our signals and stops; sometimes he laughs and just keeps going.

Joe has been counting down his retirement, day-by-day, for more than a year.

Since the first of this year, Joe has had a clock on his work computer that's been counting time backward to Thursday, Sept. 30. He has spent a long time planning for this day and his plan shows he is ready. I wish him only the best.

While I'm truly delighted for him, I'm very sad as well. I've only had two mentors in the newspaper business. One recently left suddenly; the other is Joe. I told him I did not think I could handle losing both mentors within a two-month period. His response: "Do you eat breakfast?"

Mark Kneer is the general manager of the Southeast Missourian.