Name: My old-school journalism days as a Pulliam Fellow in Phoenix | David Heitz | NewsBreak Original
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My old-school journalism days as a Pulliam Fellow in Phoenix | David Heitz | NewsBreak Original

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NewsBreak ContributorI've been in the news business 35 years, spending much of my career in editing roles at local newspapers in Los Angeles, Detroit, and the Quad-Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Upon moving to Denver in 2018, I began experiencing severe mental illness due to several traumatic experiences. I became homeless on the street for about a year before spending time in the state mental hospital. I am living proof that people can rebound from mental illness with proper treatment, even after experiencing homelessness. I consider myself a lucky guy to live in a great place like Denver. I hope my writing reflects the passion I have for living here.Denver, CO7988 followers2021-02-10Photo/SubmittedHave you ever found an old picture that just makes you grin from ear to ear? Like, all day long?Such is the case with this one. This photo is of my Fellowship class at The Arizona Republic, the summer of 1992.And what a summer it was. The best summer of my life, for sure. A life-changing summer.I had applied to be a Pulliam Fellow much earlier in the year, but never heard anything back. Meantime, I already had accepted a full-time position as dayside police reporter for the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa, even before graduating from college. I already had been working there part-time since I was a junior in high school.“After a nationwide search, we found the best candidate for the dayside police reporter is right here in our newsroom,” Editor Daniel K. Hayes wrote in his famed “Hits &amp; Misses” daily newsroom newsletter. “David Heitz will be starting the job immediately, before he even graduates.”‘David, you need someone to kick your (behind)’And then the call came. “David Heitz, this is Paul Schatt,” said the raspy, extreme-old-school newspaper voice on the other end of the line. Paul was editor of the editorial pages for the Phoenix Gazette, the Republic’s sister (evening) newspaper. “You have been selected as a Pulliam Fellow for the Arts and Entertainment department for the Republic," Schatt said. "I apologize for the late notice, but I’ll be honest – you were the alternate, and someone dropped out.”My heart was pounding so hard. I never had I been more overwhelmed in my 21 young years than when I got that phone call.“Mr. Schatt, this is huge, way huge,” I told him. “But I have accepted a position at the Quad-City Times. I cannot leave.”He replied, “You’re gonna pass this up to stick around in Davenport, Iowa? Geeee-zus (or something to that effect). You need someone to kick your (behind) and, say, ‘Rewrite this (bad) copy!’ And become the outstanding journalist you were meant to be!”And I walked into Dan Hayes’ office and quit.Blaring Whitesnake in the Colt, headed to PhoenixI remember driving my 1988 Plymouth Colt to Phoenix, blaring Whitesnake. “Here I go, again, on my own…” Oh boy, did I think I was cool.When I arrived at Arizona State University – my home for the summer – I remember walking around asking where “CO-LA” dormitory was. Nobody knew what I was talking about. Finally, one young woman said, “Oh you mean Cholla. It’s pronounced Choy-a. We speak Spanish here.”A diverse group of old-fashioned journalists I could write 10,000 words, but I’ll try to be brief. One by one, I met everyone you see in this picture. From left: Abdul Abdi (my roommate...more about him later), Judi Villa, myself (with the purple tie), Justine Jimmie, Scott Woolley (we were dubbed the token white gentile males by the others) ... Leslie? ... The name of the tall woman next to Scott escapes me, but I’ll add it in when I remember ... Linda Woo, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Holly Hacker and Jeffrey Kantrowitz.I would forget the tall woman’s name, because she was the most behaved in the bunch.We had great fun, and we learned so much. Living with Abdi was a trip. Abdi said our dormitory was a “Substandard Soviet high-rise” and used to call me “sailor” because I would leave the bathroom floor wet after taking a shower. He told me I was a “high-ranking member of the chattering classes.” He was awesome. Incredibly smart.Abdi was a staunch conservative. He came from a wealthy family in Somalia.Professionally, this fellowship was the gold standard in journalism. The pleasure of meeting journalistic heavy hittersWe got to meet with (and dine with, and have one-on-ones with):· , Vietnam war reporter for the Associated Press· Chicago Tribune columnist · , then publisher of the former Freedom Newspapers, Inc. (Orange County Register flagship, considered the most trailblazing newspaper in America at the time)· , as in, the woman in the front row of the White House press corps for decades. I can only wonder what ever happened to all my pictures with these journalistic heavy hitters. Did I not understand how huge they were and not take any?Tad Bartimus and I really hit it off. She kept saying I belonged next door at the restaurant doing stand-up comedy. She had just had carpal tunnel surgery, and I cut her steak into pieces for her at dinner.We dined in lavish restaurants. One place we went to a lot was called AZ Center and it was a rooftop restaurant that overlooked Phoenix. There was nothing on the cheap about this fellowship. This was the heyday of newspapers, and Central Newspapers, Inc., which owned the Republic/Gazette and Indianapolis Star and News at the time, spared absolutely no expense. The newspapers were owned, in part, by the Quayle family. This was during the height of the “potatoe” jokes. Vice President Dan Quayle once famously mis-spelled “Potato.”Yours truly gives valedictory speechThe icing on the cake of this incredible summer was at the end, when I was selected to give the speech to a grand banquet that bid us all adieu onto our careers in the “real world.” I made a brief stop at the Scottsdale Progress before heading to California and landing at the Anaheim Bulletin weekly edition of the Orange County Register. I got to write quite a bit for the daily, too. It was a huge opportunity. And how did I land the gig? Because I met Chris Anderson during the Pulliam fellowship, of course.In the end, after a few stops along the way, I came full circle, back to the Quad-City Times after a wonderful career in Southern California and briefly, Detroit.I moved to Denver after my dad died and now work from home as a freelance health writer.I’m so glad I ran across this picture today. I’m going to go buy a frame for it, hang it on the wall, and try to find all my former fellow fellows on LinkedIn.I’ve led such a blessed career, and it’s funny. I’m as excited about my future as a writer now as I was back then.Expand See allWhat are your thoughts?PostI've been in the news business 35 years, spending much of my career in editing roles at local newspapers in Los Angeles, Detroit, and the Quad-Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Upon moving to Denver in 2018, I began experiencing severe mental illness due to several traumatic experiences. I became homeless on the street for about a year before spending time in the state mental hospital. I am living proof that people can rebound from mental illness with proper treatment, even after experiencing homelessness. I consider myself a lucky guy to live in a great place like Denver. I hope my writing reflects the passion I have for living here.Denver, CO7988 followersMore from David Heitz6 hours ago1 day ago1 day ago1 day ago2 days ago2 days ago4 days ago4 days ago4 days ago2 days ago4 days ago3 days ago8 days ago9 days ago9 days ago10 days ago12 days ago14 days ago13 days ago15 days agoWrite a comment...

NewsBreak ContributorI've been in the news business 35 years, spending much of my career in editing roles at local newspapers in Los Angeles, Detroit, and the Quad-Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Upon moving to Denver in 2018, I began experiencing severe mental illness due to several traumatic experiences. I became homeless on the street for about a year before spending time in the state mental hospital. I am living proof that people can rebound from mental illness with proper treatment, even after experiencing homelessness. I consider myself a lucky guy to live in a great place like Denver. I...

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David Heitz

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My old-school journalism days as a Pulliam Fellow in Phoenix | David Heitz | NewsBreak Original

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