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Saluting a storied newspaper career spanning nearly five decades and even more bowties John Bkila Sub-editor, Oakville Beaver My View 19 | Thursday, October 9, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com You guys ROCK! ­ Elaine 905-844-2949 * On All Dulux ® Paints Manufactured Products Receive a $10 Sears Savings Card With Every Container (3.0-3.78L) Purchased* © 2014 PPG Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. Dulux is a registered trademark of AkzoNobel and is licensed to PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc. for use in Canada only. The Multi-Colored Swatches Design is a trademark of PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. Special Bonus *Cannot be combined with any other Learn more at Dulux.ca Store name branchSpeers Oakville -and 500 Road - 905-842-1163 " ournalists rarely, if ever, relish the spotlight. We're taught from the very beginning to be storytellers and not the story being told. But sometimes the spotlight is necessary, for certain personal stories to be shared. Monday night, an intimate gathering of journalists, under age 35, from the Metroland Media Group, Toronto Star and Metro News came together at Toronto's Trump International Hotel and Tower to honour a stalwart in our industry -- John Allen Honderich. The chair of Torstar, the parent company of this newspaper, will be officially inducted, during a Toronto gala banquet next week, into the Canadian News Hall of Fame -- a distinction shared by his late father Beland Honderich, who arguably transformed the Star into one of the most influential newspapers in Canada, as editor, publisher and eventually chair of TorStar as well. The senior Honderich died in 2005. Admittedly, before Monday night, I had only known, heard of and read about John Honderich, J so I felt it a kind of privilege to meet the definition of a newspaperman and hear firsthand his experiences of being a copyboy (when the errandrunning position still existed), editor, publisher and finally chair of the board of directors. In whimsical fashion, Honderich is famous for his bowties; a tradeJohn Honderich mark -- he told a group of journalists, including myself -- that if you were going to wear, you better know how to tie one. It's a skill he showed us and in fast time. Along with the meet-and-greet, journalists were afforded an opportunity to ask Honderich questions, which spanned from his 41-year journalism career to his thoughts on the future of the industry. While journalism is in a state of re-identification, he said its essence is just as strong now and, in fact, needed more today than ever. In an honest response, he said the model in how news will be delivered is still up in the air and it will be a challenge getting there, but the industry will persevere. In fact, he said the future could be one where foundations end up funding newspapers. He also spoke of the "serendipity of print," the love of holding a paper, the feel of flipping through it, and as long as "the baby-boomer folks" are still around, newspapers will exist, thankfully. I'll admit, I've always loved the feel of holding a newspaper and to this day, I still believe it is a much superior product than its digital sibling. Here's hoping there are enough young folks out there who feel the same way. It was one of the first things asked of Honderich, but I thought it better suited to end this column with his advice to young journalists. It's imperative to understand the fundamentals of each role you earn, he said, and then to master each step. Basically, don't be in such a hurry to get to the top. I think there's much merit in that. " Our customers will tell you: A1 Cares. We can't say enough about A1 Air Conditioning & Heating. Every interaction has been stellar, on time, honest, friendly. I highly recommend this company.