Greg Moore

Zahara Pruitt

Greg Moore

Greg Moore (Photo from nabj.org)

            Greg Moore, editor of the Denver Post traveled to Athens, Ohio on Monday, Feb. 17 to share his wisdom and advice with Ohio University students. With over 35 years in the business, Moore has worked for the Boston Globe, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and Ohio’s Journal Herald. Moore also currently holds a seat on the Pulitzer Prize board and is a former board member for the National Association of Black Journalists and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Moore admitted that he decided to major in journalism in an effort to imitate his older brother and attract females. However, since making that decision in 1975, Moore has fully committed to his craft. He commented,

“There’s nothing more important to me than being on the front page. There’s nothing more important to me than being considered the best at what I did.”                      

When asked what he did in his early career to set himself apart from the competition he replied, “Just work hard. Harder than you can ever imagine.” He also spoke of the many mentors that helped him along the way. “Try to make sure you have a mix of mentors, a lot of my mentors are actually younger than me.” Moore added,

“You have to go identify people that have what you want. They have the status, or they have the job, or they have the character that you want and then figure out how to develop that.”                  Moore repeatedly stressed the importance of seeking out mentors and sustaining contact with those mentors.

Although Moore has had much success in his career, he does recognize the challenges that he has faced in the newsroom due to his race. “Things are sometimes subtle; you don’t really know what the reason is.” Moore then went on to recount a time when a photographer disrespected him, “I don’t think he would’ve done that to this other white dude here.” He felt that diversity in the newsroom still has a long way to go.

“I think the most important thing is for you to be ready for whatever job you’re doing, be confident that you’re qualified to do it, make sure you learn as you go, and don’t take no mess.”

Moore said, “To write well you have to be a really good reader.” Also, he stressed writing every day. “Writers… have a rule where you write 250 words a day, or 500 words a day, it’s a discipline.” “The formula for success is really just a few ingredients. So write, work really hard, if you do these things you’ll be very successful.”