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Editor & Publisher magazine, the “insider” bible of the newspaper industry for the past 126 years, shipped its last issue to the printers today. The magazine is ceasing publication and shuttering its web site after the owner, Nielsen & Company, pulled the plug.

Some involved with the operation vow they will find a way to keep E&P alive but the odds are long. Like the industry it covers, E&P is a dinosaur destined for the scrap heap.

The end comes 40 years after I used E&P’s classified ads to find a new job. In 1969, the managing editor at The Roanoke Times decided my services were no longer needed because I failed to tell them I had dropped out of college and wasn’t actively pursuing a degree — a condition of my employment.

I got the word on a Friday morning, pulled the latest issue of E&P out of my desk and found an ad from The Alton Telegraph. They were looking for a reporter. I called the phone number and they invited me out for an interview the following Monday. I flew into St. Louis, was picked up by a newsroom assistant who drove me across the Mississippi River to Alton and an interview with managing editor John Focht. He looked over my clips and offered me a job on the spot, at double the salary I was earning at the Times. Two weeks later, I drove the 670 miles from Roanoke to Alton and started a new job that lasted nearly 12 years.

Things were different in those days. Jobs were plentiful and a reporter with a folder full of clips could move from paper to paper with ease.

Those days are gone and, apparently, is E&P after the upcoming issue.

Goodbye old friend. You were there when I needed you. I wish I could return the favor somehow today.

Officially became a senior citizen today.

I’m 62.

Next month, Social Security kicks in.

So, do I feel old?

Nah.

Moved my primary blog, Blue Ridge Muse, from Drupal to WordPress last weekend. Surprisingly, the process went a lot smoother than expected, thanks in large part to Lincoln Hawks superb tutorial on Social CMS Buzz.

Although I recommend Drupal for complex, content-heavy web sites, the popular open-source CMS can be a drain on server and database resources. The installation on Muse had grown to 147 tables. By migrating the data to WordPress, I reduced the table count to 14 without losing any content, images or links. Using WP’s permalinks feature, I set up a url structure that exactly matched Drupal’s “node” system so all my legacy links work without a hitch. The site now loads much faster and reader feedback has been positive.

As a writer and photographer, WordPress is much better for the creative process. Writing is seamless and the program’s handling of images if much more intuitive than Drupal. I will continue to use Drupal for Capitol Hill Blue because the CMS is more suited to a complex site but I’m happy with the easier-than-expected transition to WordPress for Muse.

Fog hangs low over the hills surrounding Chateau Thompson as I let Chewy out into the damp for her morning constitutional. I lean against a tree as she hurtles headlong into the wet woods to explore and empty her bladder and bowels.

Rain is still falling and wind rustles through the trees on a morning that seems more like October. Unlike the dog, I mind getting wet and retreat to the back porch while she continues the morning adventure.

Weatherbug predicts the drizzle lasting through the morning. Saturday stayed cool and cloudy throughout the day and the addition of rain adds to the chill in the air.
Chewy finally finishes her sojourn in the rain and returns to the dryness, food and water of porch. I head for the coffee pot and computer for my morning business. Yard work headed the agenda for today. That plan goes down the drain with the rain. Just as well. Arthritis likes wet weather but my body doesn’t like the aches and stiff joints. As Sun Tzu says, better to retreat and live to fight another day.

Sunday morning coming down. Bring on the welcome relief of boredom.

Spent some time this morning at Apple Ridge Farm, the impressive youth retreat and conference center near Copper Hill. Peter Lewis, director of the farm, bought the land some 30 years ago and has spent the last 20 or so developing a camp for kids along with five miles of nature trails, environmental education and more.
Future plans call for a pool and expanded educational programs for the kids who get to experience nature first hand.
I’m donating some nature photography to the farm for use in their new environmental sciences building and will look for other ways to help. Apple Ridge is worth supporting.