“Jobs” Items

Joining the Arizona Republic

Moving to the Arizona Republic was a big and important step in my career.  I finally reached the level I had work toward — the second level in newsroom management.  In 1987, The Republic was run by the managing editor.  Next on the organization chart were the assistant managing editors, of which I was the newest, with a newly created job.

Here’s the press release send by the parent company, Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.

PHOENIX, ARIZ . (July 30, 1987) — Howard I. Finberg, former photography and graphics editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, has been named to the newly created position of assistant managing editor/graphics at The Arizona Republic.

In his new position, Finberg will be responsible for the visual aspects of the paper–supervising the photo, graphic arts and page design departments. He also will play a major role in the redesign of the newspaper, a pioneer in pagination.

Later, after one of the three AMEs left the paper, I would assume responsibilities for the features sections and the Sunday editions.

In addition to the press release, there was a nice note in the newsroom’s newsletter, EN.  I like the small personal touch which talked about my interest in cooking.

Changing Jobs Without Moving

In August 1985 I quit the San Jose Mercury News [that’s a different story] and joined the San Francisco Chronicle as its first Photography and Graphics Editor.

Part of the job switch was a ‘run from’ the Mercury News; part was the undeniable challenge of creating a professional editing process for the Chronicle.  I love telling this story:

When I went to the Chronicle, I replaced a box.  A wooden box that photographers dumped their prints into; a box that wire photos and graphics were dropped. The news editors pulled what they wanted or needed from the box.  After my arrival, we established that an editor would help the news editors get the images that best told the story.

By the way, I took the box with me when I left the Chronicle.  It holds bits and pieces of digital equipment.

While I joined the Chronicle in early September, the announcement in Editor and Publisher did not come out until Feb. 22, 1986.

Named Director of Information Technology

In September of 1996, I was promoted to a new job and new responsibilities; from senior editor/information technology to director of information technology.  As the press release noted:

He will be responsible for planning of new technology across the company and will work closely with other directors in the development of new products and services. He will report to (John) Oppedahl and will continue to have responsibility for management of PNI’s electronic distribution of information.

It was an important opportunity as it put me on the company’s operating committee. Here’s a link to the story in the Arizona Republic.