First Draft by Tim Porter

Roy Aarons

More than once recently I have learned of the death of a friend or colleague through the Internet. The other day, sitting in a hotel room in Minneapolis, I found out Roy Aarons had died.

Roy was many things -- one of the founders of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education as well as the the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association -- and I defer any eulogizing to those who knew him much better than I, such as my good friend Mary Ann Hogan, but one quality of Roy's was immediately obvious to anyone who met him, no matter how briefly: His passion for journalism.

As Mary Ann wrote:

Roy didn’t so much enter rooms as he did fill them up. He didn’t so much work with reporters as he did tame skeptics, anoint learners and recruit fellow seekers. His truest gift, among the many, was his endless belief in the Possible.

Oh, how badly journalism needs that belief these days.

Posted by Tim Porter at December 4, 2004 08:25 AM