Never be royals

My first day at Reuters in London was a highly memorable one for news in the United Kingdom: a princess had died the prior news cycle, and the “media” which supposedly shared the blame for her death was all aflutter. The UK editor definitely could not escape to welcome our group of graduate trainees into the company. One supposed “trainee” even spent much of the prior day doing TV broadcasts back to Canada about the Diana car crash - adding to a general sense, which took me far too many years to shake, that I was in way over my head in this job. Just as a fellow departed trainee recently wrote, it was the man who made the program what it was - George Short - who took a chance on me. Sadly, since he died only months after my first interview, I never got a chance to thank him.

Today, my last day at Reuters, happens to come a few months after the christening of another George - Diana’s grandson. The years separating them have brought great turmoil for the august UK institution of which he is a part. Like Reuters - whose roots also happen to be, of course, German - the future of the royals often seems in doubt, and however things end up, they will likely be far different from before. Many people clearly wish both these institutions well.

Of course, no one would ever accuse me of royalism, even if my Glasgow-born grandmother was a big fan of the Queen. This yank upstart may even have annoyed a few people with the Dublin-datelined lede: “First came her husband, then her horse”, which sought in 1999 to handicap a potential Queen visit to a post-Troubles Irish Republic in light of an upcoming trip by one of her sons. I later returned to London to join what one News Corp wag also on the telecoms beat had dubbed Her Majesty’s Press Corps. I rounded this out with a long-sought stint in what was once the jewel in the crown: India. I shared with Indians an ability to juggle American and the Queen's English - a skill muddied by the return to my native California seven years ago.

Hmm. I’m not sure I’ve done enough to back up the grandiose intro on this humble farewell email: Pop-culture reference in headline to capture reader’s attention, followed by awkward juxtaposition of two unrelated themes that seeks to make a point in the process. Let’s not mention how badly I buried the lead - but then that’s directly injected copy for you (which I did once by accident on a story about Princess Di and landmines). On the plus side, this is under 600 words. Besides, no one should confuse journalism with art - artfulness, perhaps occasionally. Whatever you call it, it’s been a pleasure, an honor and, for much of the past decade and a half anyway, an absolute blast. I leave with a heavy and full heart, and will always consider myself part of the Reuters extended family.

PS: Speaking of friends/colleagues, here’s my rushed, Oscar-speech-style effort to dish out sincere thanks to, in rough chronological order: Keith Stafford, Nick Moore, Colin McKinnon, Rick Norsworthy, Alistair Thomson, Liz Piper, Elaine Monaghan, Tony Roddam, Kevin Smith, Ferran Paredes, Mike Elliott, Dan Lalor, Philippa Moreton, Merissa Marr, Mark Bendeich, Janet McBride, Andy Callus, Adam Pasick, Alan Wheatley, Ben Hirschler, Lucas van Grinsven, Paul Casciato, Tim Hepher, Myra MacDonald, Bill Sposato, Umesh Desai, Rosemary Arackaparambil, Punit Paranjpe, Terry Friel, Rodney Joyce, Charlotte Cooper, Joyce Liu, Phil Smith and the entire India team, Matt Daily, Anna Driver, Ernest Scheyder, Nichola Groom, Eric Auchard, Michael Kahn, Scott Hillis, Dan Levine, Rory Carroll and the rest of the San Francisco bureau. This is not really a goodbye, merely a protective outpoint, fyily - chrs/brgds san bar ■