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Charles Kershner

Chuck [Obituary: Charles Kershner] was the first person I remember having an entirely inappropriate job title - if you are an editor you are in NEWS and if you are in production you move news around. Former: Marines. Latter: Navy - To quote the slur by Lt. Jonathan Kendrick in “A Few Good Men”: Every time we’ve gotta go someplace to fight, you fellas always give us a ride.

But turns out Chuck – and the people who gave him that title – were on to something. Pioneers, even. Because as it happened there is very little difference between doing news and doing production. In some journalism jobs they are indistinguishable. Who knew Reuters had technological foresight? Or maybe it was just enough to trust the likes of Chuck and Fred Gray and Dave Mitchell and Tom Guinan to know better. 

I had the good fortune to hear from Chuck only this last January - courtesy of The Baron’s LinkedIn site - when he helped get me in touch with Bob Basler. Chuck and I had a lovely e-mail exchange, catching each other up. From the small world department, he settled not far from where I now live. I hadn’t seen him since he was despatched to Chicago after helping set wheels in motion on workflow and tools that made us all productive news people. 

Basler recently shared with me an insight from Chuck, which had to be circa 1985 or so. Chuck allowed as that laptops were a passing fad. Coming as it did during the ferocious ascent of the portable personal computer one might say that was an astonishingly foolish prediction. But I choose to believe it was prescient. Look where we are now: the laptop is a tool we resort to, not pick first. It is third behind your smartphone and tablet. 

I hope Chuck is having his well deserved last laugh. ■