A small paper’s touching tribute to a beloved copy editor
Once again tonight, I find myself graced with the inability to sleep.
On this night, however, my insomnia was a blessing. For without it, I wouldn’t have come across the story of Keith Busch, 58, a copy editor for the Tucson Citizen for more than 35 years. Keith died Saturday of a heart attack.
Check out what his friends are saying about him:
At work, Mr. Busch was a master of words, but a man of few of them. The words he did speak were precious.
“He was the ultimate wordsmith. Praise from him for a story or a headline was worth far more to me than any award,” said Citizen copy editor and former sportswriter Dave Petruska, who knew him for 31 years.
“My job just got 100 percent harder because I will no longer have this 6-foot-8 pillar of knowledge to lean on for support,” Petruska said. “I learned something new every day about words and their usage through working with Keith.”
Other longtime co-workers offered similar praise.
“Keith’s knowledge was encyclopedic. His skills as a copy editor were something most of us could only dream about and his standards were unfailingly high,” said Bruce Johnston, Citizen news editor/operations. He called Mr. Busch’s passing “a devastating loss to me as a colleague and as a friend.”
Mr. Busch’s talents went beyond normal story editing.
“Keith for more than 30 years was my safety net. Graciously and quietly he would clean up and correct the grammar of my reports to corporate and the copy in the information graphics that the newspaper has published throughout these many years,” said Joel Rochon, newsroom systems manager.
“With the help of Keith, I always looked better on paper and the Web than I actually was.”
There’s plenty more. Please check out the story for yourself, published in today’s (Tuesday’s) Tucson Citizen.
Obviously, I never met Keith Busch. But I’ve certainly known a number of wonderful people inhabiting shops in which I’ve worked, every bit as experienced and as dedicated as Keith was to his craft and to his newsroom.
I find comfort in the thought of all the Keith Busches of the world, toiling away in the night before their monitors. Mentoring our young journalists. Fixing our copy. Fitting our headlines. Cleaning up our messes.
Making us look better on paper and on the Web than we actually are.
Best wishes to Keith’s family and friends in Tucson. You were lucky to have this grand guy for 58 years. Thanks so much for sharing his story with us. Thanks so much for sharing him with us.