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Anyone who has worked for The Argonaut knows there are two understood facts — there’s no such thing as a perfect issue, and on Mondays and Thursdays, don’t expect a quiet newsroom.
For 1979 Editor-In-Chief Kathy Barnard LaPointe, production nights would end at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. at the Country Kitchen, where staff treated themselves to breakfast.
“It was an all-night affair,” she said.
John Hecht, past managing editor, said an early production night might end at The Garden Lounge, which acted as a “living room” for the staff to connect.
“Teamwork and bonding meant a whole lot,” he said.
Barnard LaPointe said for many Argonaut employees, the office acted as a home away from home — the staff as a second family.
“Work hard, play harder,” Barnard LaPointe said. “You spend almost every waking hour at The Argonaut. It was very intense and very fun. It was sort of a balls-to-the-wall kind of approach.”
After applying three times for the position, Hecht became managing editor in the mid-1970s.
During his time at the university, writers would come into the office on production days to write their stories before copy-editing could begin. It wasn’t uncommon to be working an issue ahead in order to assure deadlines were met, Hecht said.
“It was fun,” he said. “We believed in what we were doing and were very self-righteous.”
Although there were times the administration “made fussy little noises,” Hecht said there weren’t any large-scale issues during his stay at the university.
“We had a real good team, a top-notch cadre of reporters and a very hot Argonaut,” he said.
Barnard LaPointe said there were always little issues with stories, but most were overcome, which built up her confidence as an editor.
“There were times when it as a pain in the keister,” she said.
In one particular issue, a reporter had written a story about a fraternity who got “drunk as skunks” and caused a disturbance on the lawn of the Ethel Steel House, Barnard LaPointe said.
The next day Barnard LaPointe was called in by Vice Provost of Student Affairs Bruce Pitman to sit down with the fraternity brothers and explain her case. Since her reporter had three solid sources, Barnard LaPointe refused to retract the story, and the fraternity was helpless. She said she remembers the moment as a “high point” in her college career.
“I felt good about that gem,” she said.
Suzanne Gore, editor-in-chief in 1982, said at one point The Argonaut was the last school newspaper to be without an adviser.
“We felt like we were kind of running our own deal, “ she said.
Barnard LaPointe said she learned more working for The Argonaut than she could have during class. By turning in three to five stories a week, she said she quickly learned the ins and outs of the field.
“It was more like a lifestyle than it was a job,” she said. “It’s the perfect way to actually do journalism as opposed to just hearing about it.”
Barnard LaPointe accredits her success in the job market to her work for The Argonaut.
“(During interviews) they didn’t ask about my GPA, they asked what I’d done,” she said.
After working as a reporter for 11 years, Barnard LaPointe turned to public relations. She now works for Washington State University as senior public relations coordinator.
Between his longer stint at the university and off-campus jobs, Hecht said he was “well prepared” for the world outside college.
He landed his first job after college as a TV reporter covering the Alaska Legislature. He worked with many other community radio stations and became editor of a weekly newspaper before settling down as a resources and technical writer for the Bureau of Reclamation. He has held the position for 15 years.
This isn’t the first reunion Barnard LaPointe has been a part of. She said she expects an exciting celebration.
“No matter who shows up,” she said. “The ones who do have a good time.”
Hecht said his career at UI overlaps with many other alumni.
“I worked with half the people on guest list,” he said. “I will be seeing good, dear friends.”
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