Concern about recent Valley News departures
Tuesday’s morning newsletter from the Valley News was entitled “Staff Updates and Today’s Top Stories.” Publisher Rich Wallace begins by correctly observing that “Some of you may have noticed recent newsroom changes.” Indeed, I have.
He continues with, “And with a retirement and a couple of departures from the newsroom, we’re actively working to hire several new reporters to increase the number of reporters covering our community.”
Without specifics, I can only conclude that one of those departures is the excellent editor and writer, Alex Hanson, someone I have had the pleasure of working with. Alex is a demanding but fair and generous editor. Readers of the paper were the beneficiaries of his attention to detail in both the stories he edited and the stories he wrote.
The other noticeable departure is the outstanding photographer, Jen Hauck. Jen has an eye for capturing the ordinary in extraordinary ways. Sometimes it was a trash cleanup in Strafford, a tennis match in Lebanon, or even a solitary skier and her dog at Oak Hill. And while I don’t know much about photography (or art in general), I feel something when I look at a photo I like. I experienced that often when looking at Jen’s photos in the paper.
While publisher Wallace promises “to support and extend” the paper’s “dedication to original and reliable coverage of the Upper Valley,” with the departure of these notable veterans, it’s going to be a heavy lift.
Sometimes change can be a good thing. But in this particular case, I think we’ve lost something that is not easily replaced. As a longtime subscriber to the Valley News and a supporter of local media, I wish the new staffers the very best of luck. I want them and the publisher to be successful. At the same time, however, I am going to miss seeing Jen’s photos and reading Alex’s work, and I can’t help but wonder what prompted these departures.