The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
Dennis Hartig, a veteran editor at The Virginian-Pilot who has run the editorial pages for the past six years, will retire by the end of the year.
"The greatest thrill I've had is working with incredible journalists every day on different stories," said Hartig, 60.
Hartig and publisher Maurice Jones said the retirement was voluntary. Last week, Jones said The Pilot and its affiliated businesses were cutting at least 125 employees, or 10 percent of their work force.
Hartig, who grew up in the Ocean View section of Norfolk and graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School, joined The Pilot in 1979 as editor of the Virginia Beach Beacon. He later became deputy managing editor, acting editor and, in 1997, managing editor, the newsroom's No. 2 position.
"Dennis excelled at every job he held," Kay Tucker Addis, who served as the newspaper's top editor, said in an e-mail. She called him "one of the most passionate journalists I had the pleasure of working with. He just oozed excitement over news."
In 2002, Hartig was named editorial page editor, overseeing The Pilot's editorials and columns. One of his most significant achievements, Jones said, was to make the editorial pages "unpredictable. I don't want people to know what our editorial pages are going to say before they read them. That is something I want us to continue."
Hartig "is one of the real superstars of both public policy and communications," said E.T. "Joe" Buchanan III, retired provost of the Virginia Beach campus of Tidewater Community College. "He is both truculent and sensitive at the same time."
Hartig, who lives in Virginia Beach, said he planned to spend more time with his three grandsons and to take college courses in history and horticulture.
Hartig is one of six editorial writers. Jones said he does not expect to reduce the size of the staff. Hartig's successor will be chosen by year's end, Jones said.
Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com
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Execution Date For Convicted D.C. Sniper
John Allen Muhammad has been legally tried and found guilty of being a terrorist and a murderer and has already cost the taxpayers of Virginia more than his life is worth. I say execute him, and the sooner, the better. Let God, the ultimate judge, deal with him.
Editor retires
Please name me one, ONE, editorial writer on the Pilot who leans rightward! Just one! There in lies the rub with the Pilot under Hartig's watch. While nationally syndicated conservative columnists are presented in the Opinion section, there are NONE who write about local issues, elections, etc.
I've noticed that the Pilot, on this venue and within the paper itself, will not allow for any criticism of the Pilot or the people who own/manage it. Here is an absolute monopoly as far as newsrags here on the southside, and yet, they're showing all the signs of heading out of business (layoffs, revamping of the paper, eliminating sections, like the TV and now the Business section), and still they're in trouble. That is certainly a legacy of Hartig's, the censoring of any and all opinions that do not reflect the ultra-leftist position taken by the Pilot on most issues. We'll see how long this posting lasts before the uber-sensitive Pilot minions remove it!
for pete's sake
heh, he said a newspaper person is an Obama lackey. wow, that's hysterical.
c'mon, people, not everything is about democrats and republicans, and in this case pierre doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.
I used to work at the Pilot. Hartig's family has political connections, but to his credit, all he ever cared about was getting the story, and he couldn't have cared less if the story was about a liberal, conservative or a tree frog. And as editorial page editor, it was Dennis who pushed to bring conservative writers onto the page.
So do your homework, and shoot for informed and original on your next try.
Anti-Republican?
To Pierre and all those who voted for President Bush and feel that ther Pilot is Anti-Republican; I would like to hear from you about what you feel were the major accomplishments of the Republicans and Pres. Bush the past 8 years? Maybe each reader could just list the top 5 accomplishments and we can discuss how the Pilot unercut these accomplishments.
Pierre - you first.
New Job?
Will his new job be with the Obama administration? I'm sure they are happy with his one sided anti republican coverage.