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Columnist Fuson tells journalism students to have thick skins

By David Neff

Column writers need a thick skin when submitting their work for public critique.

“The most important thing about opinion writing,” said Des Moines Register columnist Ken Fuson at the SPJ Mid-Winter Conference on Feb. 10, “is to remember that you suck.”

Or so the public will remind you early and often. The Register columnist said he has learned to take the criticism in stride. It helps that he's a humor columnist.

In a day marked with speakers and workshops at the Greenlee School, Fuson tried to incorporate humor into his lecture, much in the same way he does with his column.

“Humor is one of the most underused tools in our toolkit,” Fuson said. “People are constantly trying to be serious and think you can only gain credibility if you are reporting on the heart-wrenching stories.”

Fuson talked about how he had written a column for Valentine’s Day on the engagement of two Des Moines television journalists—Emily Givens of KCCI and David Price of WHO. He said he started the column with a seemingly unrelated anecdote about how another couple met in 1989. The idea was the matches are often made in unusual ways.

The point Fuson was making for the assembled young journalists was never throw away anything you collect. You never know when it's going to come in handy.

Along with Fuson at the SPJ conference were David Yepsen and Richard Doak, also columnists for the Register, and Al Lewis, who covers business for the Denver Post.

The speakers all gave advice on effective journalism and overwhelmingly stressed the importance of thorough reporting and writing concisely and to the audience rather than about oneself.

David Yepsen of the Des Moines Register tells the SPJ audience to never be boring.
Photo by Dan McClanahan

Yepsen, a political columnist, discussed the role of the media in politics and the impact that responsible, credible writers can have on national events.

“We must focus on solutions and give the readers some hope,” Yepsen said. “Our goal is to get people thinking and talking.”

Because the media are able to shape public opinion, Yepsen warned against becoming little more than a business, only interested in profit.

“We gotta be facile enough to change,” he said. “Are we just making a profit without putting anything worthwhile into the media?”

Denver's Lewis spoke about his job as a business columnist and the responsibility of the media to inform the public about corporate corruption.

“Corporations wield more influence on individuals than government,” he said. “Business runs government. You will see a revolving door of people who go from business to politics to business to politics.”

Because he writes a column three times per week, Lewis said his best stories sometimes come from following his instincts and talking to seemingly unimportant people who may have something important to say.

Doak, the final speaker, gave insight into the political process and how media changed people's opinions.

When the Des Moines Register sponsored John Edwards one week before the previous caucuses, public opinion in Iowa quickly changed and brought him up to the foreground of political light.

“Don't believe anyone who says opinion writing doesn't matter anymore,” Doak said. “The effect of that editorial was electrifying.”

Ferne Bonomi, the first Iowa woman elected to College of Fellows for the Public Relations Society of America, said she enjoyed the conference and was impressed with the quality of speaking.

“While I enjoyed the humor, I thought Dave Yepsen spoke the most eloquently and explained everything clearly,” she said. “Everybody said something worthwhile, but Yepsen seemed to really contribute the most important information.”

Attendance was approximately 80. The event was co-sponsored by the ISU and University of Iowa chapters of SPJ, as well as the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The ISU Chapter gave Iowa adviser Richard Johns a lifetime achievement award for his nearly four decades of work with SPJ. Johns is a journalism professor at the University of Iowa and the executive director of Quill and Scroll.

Greenlee School Director Michael Bugeja gave an introductory talk on writing commentary. Bugeja said it is just as important for columnists to do their reporting as regular reporters. Bugeja made reference to each of the guests' work to demonstrate his point.