On the passing of a legendary Connecticut newspaperman and journalism’s generational divide

I spent some time last week reading poignant remembrances of Tom Condon, a veteran journalist by the late 1990s when I started my first reporting job at Connecticut’s largest newspaper, the Hartford Courant.

I didn’t know him as well as many of his peers, so this isn’t one of those tributes. Their words should serve as a lasting testament to this legend of New England journalism. But what I did know, and what never changed in the decade-plus we spent in the same newsroom together, was that he was an exceptional journalist who was an even more exceptional human being.

A gentleman is how I often heard him described, and was it ever accurate.

He always had time, and respect, for the newbies. He showed me an incredible amount of grace — most of which I probably didn’t deserve — when I joined the columnist ranks at the paper, all while continuing to do the great work he always did. As colleagues recalled in his obituary: “He had a relentless devotion to the truth.” “He was impeccably fair.” “He cared deeply.”

He was the kind of journalist I aspired to be.

I was always in awe of veteran journalists like him around me; that’s never changed. But I don’t know if I ever explicitly told Tom that it was an honor to be in the same newsroom as him — and if I didn’t, I’m sorry about that.

So I was touched to read how many of his friends and colleagues shared their appreciation of him with him — while he was still alive and often while they still worked with him.

It’s a lovely example of giving people their flowers while they are still here — something we need to do more of in an environment that always seems to embrace the newest and shiniest thing in the room.

The generational divide in journalism, or in any field for that matter, is often presented as new, but it’s always been there — and even in the best-case scenarios, there’s always tension between a group that is never quite done before the next group is itching to take over.

It may be hell on the ego, but for the most part, it’s a healthy and necessary evolution for journalism to not only survive but thrive. (A note to my all-caps social media trolls: I’m nowhere near done, so don’t get too excited.)

What I saw in those remembrances of Tom, though — and what I wish we sometimes had more of these days — is more mutual respect, and appreciation of what each generation brings to the table and can teach the other instead of falling into the tired traps of, “Watergate, we did it better …” or “Ticktock, dinosaurs, your time is up …”

There’s always tension between a group that is never quite done before the next group is itching to take over.

And, trust me, the hypocrisy of these words being typed by someone who once participated in a newsroom workshop called “Why the Courant Sucks” is not lost on me. What can I say: I’m older now — and hopefully a little wiser.

It’s only after having the benefit of — gulp — 30 years in the business that I have really begun to grow into and appreciate things like mentorship and legacy, and the fact that we’re all standing on the shoulders of those who came before us in whatever fields we’ve chosen to pursue.

But it’s also why I feel so strongly that we have to pay it forward, and why I created the Ñ Fund for Latinas in Journalism in 2022 as a way to contribute to the advancement of Latinas in the field of journalism through grants to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.

As I was writing this, I got some great news about Emily Nelson, a young Latina journalist whose internship at CBS News 2 in Boise, Idaho, I was able to help fund through the Voces Internship of Idaho. Nelson was just selected for the New York Times Corps, a mentorship program for undergraduates who are pointing themselves toward careers in journalism.

Through the generosity of the program’s donors, we’ve played a very small part in one young Latina’s path into a newsroom where she, too, will hopefully be shown an abundant amount of grace.

I look forward to doing more. But it’s also important to look back to people like Tom Condon, and countless others to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.

Here’s to them all.