Longtime Courier-Journal columnist Byron Crawford wrote his final column for the Louisville newspaper on Thursday. Apparently, he was among the 51 cuts at the C-J, and from what I'm reading on other blogs, he took a voluntary buyout. I've heard that the buyout was pretty decent. The 51 cuts come on top of a round of 15 layoffs in August. The C-J's parent company, Gannett, cut thousands of positions across the business on Thursday in the latest round of layoffs.
Crawford had probably the best job in Kentucky journalism. He was allowed to travel across the state to the back roads of little bergs that barely exist, places like Kentucky Bend down in Fulton County, that tiny crook of land that sits out in the Mississippi River, or Pine Mountain in the eastern part of the state. I met him when he came through Paducah years ago on a speaking tour. I was a young journalist then, but I already knew that I preferred the feature stories that Crawford favored, the personalities and the places of our great state. I had that opportunity for the past 13 years to write feature stories, but retirements and restructuring here forced some changes within the local paper, but thankfully I still have a job in the media.
He was one of my writing heroes. I admired the way he told a story and brought the quirks of Kentucky to life for many of us who might not ever travel to these tiny bergs in the backside of nowhere. And I'll miss reading his columns. Like so much of the media, perhaps he will consider a blog to continue his column writing.
The media is a scary place to be right now with all the dire business talk and round after round of layoffs and forced retirements. It's sad for readers that longtime veterans like Crawford are taking the buyouts, but I'm sure that Crawford now will enjoy retirement or a second career.
Click to read his final column
Farewell, Byron. Good luck in your next phase of life. Please keep writing.
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