Resin up the bow

While I resin up the bow for Nearer, My God, to Thee, others are jumping onto the lifeboats. Last week it was Assistant Metro Editor Dani Dodge. Today, it was reporter Sharon Heilbrunn. It's hard to tell which hit is harder, but neither loss is easy to endure.

Dani came to the Union-Tribune a few years ago with a reputation as a spunky reporter from Ventura. It didn't take long for her to leave an impression in our newsroom. About a week after she got here, she headed to Mexico for a front-page feature on road racing in Baja. She also did some notable work under less-than-ideal conditions in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans before settling in as a downtown San Diego reporter. It was during her days as a downtown reporter that Dani worked with me, which is enough to drive anyone crazy. Instead, she thrived. A short time later, Dani was an editor, always willing to toil on the days others tried to avoid and never hesitant to take on a challenging assignment.

She's going to the San Diego Zoological Society and will most likely soon become the next Joan Embry.

Sharon, who also worked with me (maybe there's a connection here?), also came to us a few years ago, but as a news assistant with a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University. She worked in El Cajon under the tutelage of Assistant Metro Editor and rising star Alexa Capeloto and managed to get more than a few bylines in the paper. Sufficiently impressed, management promoted her to the rank of reporter just a few months ago, working for yours truly, where she continued to shine.

Sharon is a newspaper publisher's best friend. She's young, doesn't earn anywhere near enough to break the bank, but she produces, has all sorts of skills, and has pretty much mastered much of the new media that is threatening the very existence of many newspapers. She also loves her job and is a fine writer.

Sharon is taking a gig with KPBS in San Diego, where she'll learn even more about new media, radio and television under a grant underwritten by a nonprofit.

Unfortunately, Sharon and Dani won't be the last to leave. And if this keeps up, I may end up playing for an empty deck aboard the Titanic.