In the late summer of 1996, our apartment phone rang in San Diego, California. A man with a very Southern accent said, “Hello, may I please speak to Marshall.” It was the first time that I heard Clarion-Ledger Editorial Page editor David Hampton. I had applied for the job as editorial cartoonist. He was inviting me to Jackson, Mississippi for an interview.
A 1/3 of my life has passed since then. Fifteen years later, I handed him my Sunday cartoon (about him) and said goodbye. I still can’t believe come Monday he will not be my editor.
In those 15 years, I showed him thousands of rough cartoon ideas. (Until I was made part-time, that was seven cartoons a week times about three roughs per day.) Day in and day out, I’d hand him the sketches and he’d pick the one he wanted to go on the editorial page. He never gave me ideas. I wouldn’t have taken them. But I respected his opinion. And advice. Although we may have disagreed with politically, his main requirement was that I do my best work. Under his supervision, I was named a two-time Pulitzer Finalist. He deserves some credit for that. You find a good editor and you stick with him (or her). David was worth sticking around for.
David is a passionate man. And a stubborn one. I didn’t always agree with him and at times, he frustrated me as a boss. And I’m sure I frustrated him as an employee. If he didn’t want to hear something, you could tell. Managing a department with talented, self-assured people couldn’t have been easy. I used to call him the “ego whisperer.” But I can count the times we had serious disagreements on both hands. Over 15 years, that’s not a bad track record.
David cares deeply about Mississippi. About Jackson. About education. He likes to harvest deer. He’s close to his brothers and loves baseball. He’s a good Christian who lives his faith. And I’ve met no one who cared more for The Clarion-Ledger. Leaving it pains him.
And knowing he won’t be there Monday pains me. Change happens. I get that. But change without my editor will be hard to fathom. The Clarion-Ledger has lost a big part of its soul. Thanks, David. It has been an honor working with you.
With the loss of the editor and the Cleveland brothers, I fear the newspaper I have enjoyed for so many years will never be the same! It’s not been the same since you were put part-time! Really miss those daily cartoons!
Me, too.
Now I wish I got the Clarion Ledger. I live in the northeast but love reading Marshall Ramsey’s work.
I was wondering why there weren’t as many updates anymore. I guess the modern age of 24 hour news coverage had all but killed printed press. As such, Marshall keep up the good work. All things being equal, it is always hard to lose someone you respect and worked for in a 15 year time span.