

He Understood Not Only What We Did but What We Were Supposed to Do (1986) - NaOH
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-12-25/local/me-537_1_peaches

======
danso
I saw this story being passed around by newspaper journalists on
Twitter...surprised to see it here. When I retweeted the link, someone on
Twitter (also a newsman) said he thinks the story is made up:

[https://twitter.com/JohnRussell99/status/547814120679288832](https://twitter.com/JohnRussell99/status/547814120679288832)

It's too late on Christmas Eve to do more investigating before bedtime, but I
did find this interesting snippet while Googling around for Al Reck; this is
his obituary:

[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19670419&id=h...](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19670419&id=hOBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dQEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6346,2581179)

> _Al Reck, a real life city editor whose career reads like a Hollywood
> scenario, died yesterday. He was 69. His exploits in 43 years of newspaper
> work included deep sea diving to identify a crashed airplane and riding a
> rum-runner 's boat to expose prohibition. He covered news, he made it, and
> found faster ways to report it...Mr. Reck was among the first to use planes
> in reporting news. He toured Latin America with Charles Lindbergh, found a
> missing group of scientists, and was present at a meeting in Havana that led
> to the formation of Pan American World Airways_

So I don't know if the OP is made up (I'll ask the objecting Twitterer
tomorrow)...but it certainly doesn't sound like too outlandish of a story
given the accomplishments credited to Mr. Reck in his obituary.

~~~
rmason
We think alike, I looked him up online as well.

1\. WWI hero who was left for dead on the battlefield, captured and then
escaped German captivity twice

2\. Foreign correspondent

3\. Worked for a Congressman which explains his D.C. connections

4\. Rigged up a wireless set with car batteries and reported live from a Miami
hurricane

Sounded like he was a larger than life guy.

------
mturmon
The young columnist, Al Martinez, was a fixture of the LA Times for many
years. He's in declining health now, and has retired from regular reporting.
He remains an icon of LA journalism.

His tone has become more serious, but also somewhat more playful, as the
stakes have raised.

Here is a nice recent piece of his:
[http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/08/always_leave_them_l...](http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/08/always_leave_them_laughing.php)

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lukastsai
a more readable version:
[https://getscroll.com/r/52pqg](https://getscroll.com/r/52pqg)

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lotsofmangos
I like that story. There's something of a koan about it.

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brianberns
That's a very sweet story (sorry for the pun), but of course it's absolutely
_not_ what journalists are supposed to do.

~~~
ProCynic
Fuck that. Journalists are human beings and that _is_ what human beings are
supposed to do.

