Each of us, if we’re lucky, can think of a few people who changed the course of our professional lives.
Our newest story, published this morning, is written by a person who changed mine.
When I was 23 years old, fresh out of college, and pretty sure I knew everything, I took a reporting job at the Lincoln Journal Star. It was my good fortune — and Lincoln’s — that Peter Salter served as the city editor there.
Over the next three years, he taught me how to write clearly, to wield a machete and slash through the jungle of my own prose until the reader could follow me, could feel what the story’s characters felt. If I have a writer’s “voice” today, some part of it is borrowed from his.
And though I didn’t know it at the time, he was also trying to teach me how to better do the job I have today. As a newsroom leader, he listened, even when too busy. He commanded attention without raising his voice. When I messed up, he called me on it, but remained an ally. And he was forever on the side of good work. Good journalism was the alpha and omega. A good story delighted him. And so it delighted us, too.
Peter also, if I remember correctly, gave me my first Wilco CD.
Now Wilco, my favorite band for the past quarter century, is filled with old dudes. Now no one owns CDs. Now Peter Salter is retired from newspaper journalism.
Now everything is different, except for what makes a good story. Today’s story is the story of an international fraud that somehow involves an unwitting north Lincoln used car dealer.
It’s the story of a scam, and a tale of the fallout when we’re tricked.
And it’s skillfully told — a better story — because it’s written by Peter Salter.
That delights me. I hope it delights you, too.
Warren’s steak: You may have heard that Warren Buffett announced his early retirement at the far-too-young age of 94. You may also have heard that his favorite steakhouse — one he helped make famous — is Gorat’s.
Shattered glass: Add up all the glass we dump into a landfill, divide by the number of Nebraskans and you get this shocking stat: We dump 50 pounds of glass per Nebraskan each year. Considering there are nearly 2 million of us, that’s a whole lot of glass.
But an increasing number of Nebraska cities and smaller towns are trying to do something about that, starting grassroots programs that recycle and reuse this glass instead. And in some cases, turn it into beer bottles! Which I will now think about, and congratulate myself for, whenever I drink a bottle of beer.
Why are we already voting again? If you’re a resident of Lincoln or Omaha, you maybe wondered, as I did, why the primary elections for those city’s mayors and city council members felt like they began 13 minutes after last November’s election ended.
FFP Omaha reporter Jeremy Turley wondered why, too, and this week we published his smart story about how these off-year spring elections came into existence, and the effort underway to try to end them.
Let’s talk mental health: On June 12 FFP is headed to Omaha’s Westside Community Schools to talk mental health. How is the city and state succeeding as it tries to aid those affected by mental health issues? How and why are we failing some of our state’s most vulnerable residents? And how can we make it better?
FFP Omaha reporter Chris Bowling, who has written several good stories on this topic, will moderate a panel that includes public health experts, homelessness advocates, treatment providers and Nebraskans who have been personally affected by persistent mental illness in their families. Learn more about this free community event and RSVP here.
This is the first in a series of discussions about important subjects that we’re co-hosting with the Omaha Community Foundation. I’m so happy that we can partner with them to bring more “journalism on stage” to Omaha and Nebraska.
(Related: We will be announcing a few more issue-based events around the state soon.)
Questions wanted: Some of our best story ideas come from readers, and they typically start with a burning question that just cries out for an answer. Have a question that our reporters need to look into? Complete this form or reach our newsroom at [email protected].
Sincerely,
—Matthew Hansen, Executive Editor
Here’s what we’re into this week: News from around Nebraska
Every week we like to share great Nebraska journalism, no matter who made it. Here’s what caught our eye this week:
- I have to tell you about a cool new thing that Nebraska Public Media is doing. It’s a history podcast focused on Nebraska. I have always been of the opinion that we do a pretty bad job of preserving our own history in the state. And I’m very excited to listen to skilled veteran journalist Bill Kelly’s podcast. The first three episodes are up now!
- Those aren’t the only good new listens out this week. OMAPOD, Tony Bock’s good daily Omaha podcast, had interviews this week with our very own Jeremy Turley and Yanqi Xu about their latest stories.
- Warren Buffett did indeed announce he’s retiring at the end of this year. Here’s a story about his best-ever and worst-ever investments, written by Nebraska-based Associated Press business writer Josh Funk.
- The World-Herald’s Henry Cordes and Julie Anderson did good work covering the bombshell announcement at Saturday’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Here’s their story about how the crowd — and the handpicked Buffett replacement — reacted when the Oracle of Omaha dropped the news. (You may need OWH subscriber access to read this story.)
- The NY Times with a list of the biggest events in Buffett’s life and career.
- And I really enjoyed this from the Wall Street Journal: Why there will never be another Warren Buffett. (You may need an WSJ subscriber access to read this.)
- “We are concerned that the rule of law is in peril, and we urge you to be vigilant in its defense.” That’s a sentence in a letter that 33 current and emeritus faculty members of the University of Nebraska College of Law sent to the state’s congressional delegation about the Trump administration this week. Nebraska Public Media’s Brian Beach with the story.
- The Project 2025 blueprint for federal budget cutting calls for an end to what Nebraska farmers call “CRP,” a longtime conservation program that pays farmers to grow cover crops and natural grasses on their land. NPM’s Molly Ashford has a story about what that may mean for some Nebraska farmers if the program is actually cut.
- Nebraska Public Media itself is facing a serious budget cut if the Trump administration succeeds at ending federal funding for public television and public radio. If it happens, NPM will lose 1/6 of its current funding, its leaders say. The story about the fight — and what may be lost — by Nebraska Examiner reporter Juan Salinas II.
