An OPEN LETTER to the Family of Mike Myer:
Dear Myer Family:
No matter what relationship you had with Mike, please know the person he was extended far beyond your family, and thank The Lord you allowed that to take place.
As the executive editor of the Wheeling newspapers, he was a mentor to any reporter who wanted one, and there was a time in his career when he would miss lunch and dinner (Connie always hated those calls despite expecting them.) to publish the best product he could given the budget he was allotted by ownership.
Mike was a true journalist, plain and simple. His career began in his native Wetzel County, and he scaled the ladder quickly because of his God-given talent for writing and his perspective and love of and for the Upper Ohio Valley. Who, what, when, where, how, and why, sure, but Mike insisted his reporters discover more information in an ethical fashion. “On the record” was most important.
Editor, copy editor, reporter … you could ask him anything, and often those conversations extended beyond the job. Wife, girlfriend, kids, and Mike offered advice but allowed his staff members to make their own decisions about their own lives, and he celebrated success and consoled in times of failure.
If you did your job meeting deadlines with solid content that covered your beat, he was not afraid to promote his most impressive for company positions elsewhere. But, no matter where we went, Mike’s number was on speed dial, and he always took the time to talk.
Journalism in his beloved Valley lost a giant Wednesday. He either sculpted us, or at the very least offered a professional example for us to follow. Once, he and another great journalist, Bob Kelly, were the editors of the two newspapers with separate staffs that competed against each in the newsroom. For true-blue newsnuts, there was no better environment for someone wishing to make a living in the industry, and this city has never been so lucky.
It was his matter-of-factness, his methods of grooming, and Mike’s candor during those closed-door meetings that made our departures difficult when saying goodbye after accepting an out-of-town position.
This farewell, though, just plain hurts.
God bless you all, Myer family, and thank you for sharing him.
Sincerely,
Anyone Lucky Enough to Work with Him
