Janet Malcolm, described in her June 18 New York Times obituary as a “provocative journalist,” declared journalists do work that is “morally indefensible.”
Malcolm said the delight reporters take in digging into the dingiest, darkest corners of the human experience, ghoulishly haunting car accidents, murders and other tragedies, make them cynical, jaded conveyors of news.
That indictment — that pall of cynicism — never hung over Steve Krause.
In a career that stretched half a century, Krause’s tenure at The Item included his stint as the second longest-serving sports editor in the newspaper’s history behind Ed Cahill, father of Essex Media Group Board of Directors member Edward L. Cahill.
Krause approached every interview he conducted as a blank slate to be filled in without preconceptions or bias directed at the subject.
He interviewed the famous, infamous and now-forgotten over the breadth of his career and his approach to every interview and article was, “Tell me your story.”
His untainted interest in what people had to say about their lives carried over into relationships with news colleagues. The youngest, greenest addition to The Item newsroom could be guaranteed an unsolicited recitation about Krause’ tenure with United Press International.
He took inexperienced newspeople under his sheltering wing and did his best to turn them into confident journalists soaring into promising careers. His standard newsroom greeting — “How you doin’?'” — reflected his firm belief that the top priority for a reporter is to not take yourself too seriously.
Steve loves writing and that love will surely continue into his retirement years. His departure from The Item is a loss impossible for his colleagues to erase. We will all be poorer for not having his knowledge and skills serving the paper. But we are all the richer for the example he set for us.
Good luck in your next chapter, Steve.
