When political columnist Dan Walters applied for a job with the Klamath Falls Herald and News in 1963, he fudged on his age.
A high school dropout working as a police reporter for the Humboldt Times in Eureka, Walters sought a better job. Fearing a rejection from the Oregon newspaper, the 19-year-old Walters added three years to his age.
“Three years after that they transferred me down to Hanford to become the editor of the paper there,â€Â Walters said in a phone conversation from Sacramento. “They thought I was 25. In 1966, I became the editor of the Hanford Sentinel at the ripe old age of 22.â€Â
Walters will be the keynote speaker at the 2007 Roger Tatarian Journalism Symposium on Friday, Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Satellite Student Union. The symposium’s theme is “Politics and the Digital Age.â€Â The first part of the program will be a panel discussion.
After serving as the nation’s youngest daily newspaper editor for three years, Walters said he bounced “like a yo-yoâ€Â from Hanford back to Klamath Falls and then back to Eureka before landing at the Sacramento Union in the state capitol in 1975.
Walters began writing a political column for the Sacramento Union in 1981. He moved his column to the Sacramento Bee in 1984, writing more than 7,000 columns in the last 23 years.
As a political columnist, Walters said his job is the “edificationâ€Â of the public, providing his view about the political system in California to encourage the public to think about the issues for themselves.
“As a columnist, what you’re doing is providing a steady flow of fact, analysis and observation that attempts to bring the conflict between politics and reality, social and economic reality, into some sort of focus,â€Â Walters said. “I’m trying to cut through the supposition, wishful thinking, fancifulness, fantasy and balderdash that one encounters in politics and try to get to the heart of every matter.â€Â
In his speech, scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., Walters said he will address the confusion in the state of California.
“The social and economic forces that I wrote about 20 years ago have come into full flower and created a unique and discordant society with a declining social consensus and an increasingly gridlocked and irrelevant political structure,â€Â Walters said.
After decades of observation and examination, Walters said he thinks Californians need to develop a “civic consensusâ€Â by regaining a sense of commonality, a common purpose and a common identity.
“We are essentially testing in California whether the American system of government can work once society reaches a certain level of density and complexity as we have in California,â€Â Walters said.
Born in Kansas, Walters said he’s lived in California more than “85 percentâ€Â of his life, from as far south as El Centro during his childhood to as far north as Eureka. He wrote a series of special reports for the Sacramento Bee in 1985, dividing the state into 14 regions and providing a socioeconomic, demographic and political profile of each region. The reports were published in a book called “The New California: Facing the 21st Century.â€Â
Walters said the biggest challenge facing California in the future is population growth. Adding five to six million people every decade to the state, Walters said, translates into more cars, schools, housing units, traffic congestion, water demand and infrastructure. With growth fueled by immigration, the cultural mix changes, Walters said.
“That introduces another whole element into the social and eventually the political system,â€Â Walters said. “Not only are there more of us, but we’re increasingly different in a variety of ways and that makes the politics of California unique.â€Â
As for journalism, Walters said the newspaper business requires learning the fundamentals including interviewing, developing sources and understanding how city governments work. Journalists distribute an entirely new product every day, he said, requiring an exceptional work ethic.
“I’m always impressed by what happened up in the little town of Oroville north of Sacramento some years ago when a U-2 plane out of Beale Air Force Base crashed into the newspaper building,â€Â Walters said. “They found a way to get the newspaper out that day. I mean I’m just blown away with admiration for people who don’t know excuses.â€Â
Walters sets a good example for young journalists, never missing a column in 23 years.
“I have not missed a turn at bat yet, other than vacations, but everybody gets a vacation, even Cal Ripken, Jr.,â€Â Walters said, referring to the Orioles record-breaking shortstop.
After 47 years in the journalism profession, Walters said he enjoys writing for newspapers and eliciting readers̢۪ reactions.
“It’s fun to satisfy your curiosity about things, sometimes irritate people and poke at politicians, you get paid to sound off,â€Â Walters said. “It’s a good deal.â€Â
Ernest Norsworthy • Oct 3, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Unlike a permissive parent, Dan Walters spanks adult California kids in nearly every one of his columns (sorry, I haven̢۪t read them all).
His column today synthesizes a huge 800 pound-gorilla problem – eminent domain, or the taking of private property by government whether the owner likes it or not. It seems that the dusting off dated writing (the U.S. Constitution) does not have the brilliant ring of clarity of 200 years ago.
Then, history told of the seizing of private property by whim of the Crown but they also understood it might sometimes be important to take private property for public uses. And not the broad interpretation of “public useâ€Â to include shopping centers, housing developments, etc. all for private gain but for use by the “publicâ€Â.
The Kelo decision by the Supreme Court actually said it was okay for the city of New London, Conn.
to acquire by eminent domain private property for private use. Since then, at least 28 states have taken up the subject of eminent domain to halt just that kind of taking.
The California initiatives mentioned by Walters somewhat tackle the issue but leave open questions. The cities, of course, want to be the shill for developers so they will receive more tax dollars. Easy money at both ends at the expense of private property owners who do not want to sell.
To muddy the waters even more, the federal government with its edict known as Executive Order 13406 prohibits a federal agency from acquiring private property and converting it to private use. It seems that the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal agency, for years was buying, selling, and swapping land for their own profit. EO 13406 stopped that cold.
Cities, states, and counties probably cannot count on as much federal largess after issuance of that order.
Ernest Norsworthy • Oct 4, 2007 at 3:29 am
Unlike a permissive parent, Dan Walters spanks adult California kids in nearly every one of his columns (sorry, I haven’t read them all).
His column today synthesizes a huge 800 pound-gorilla problem ”“ eminent domain, or the taking of private property by government whether the owner likes it or not. It seems that the dusting off dated writing (the U.S. Constitution) does not have the brilliant ring of clarity of 200 years ago.
Then, history told of the seizing of private property by whim of the Crown but they also understood it might sometimes be important to take private property for public uses. And not the broad interpretation of “public use” to include shopping centers, housing developments, etc. all for private gain but for use by the “public”.
The Kelo decision by the Supreme Court actually said it was okay for the city of New London, Conn.
to acquire by eminent domain private property for private use. Since then, at least 28 states have taken up the subject of eminent domain to halt just that kind of taking.
The California initiatives mentioned by Walters somewhat tackle the issue but leave open questions. The cities, of course, want to be the shill for developers so they will receive more tax dollars. Easy money at both ends at the expense of private property owners who do not want to sell.
To muddy the waters even more, the federal government with its edict known as Executive Order 13406 prohibits a federal agency from acquiring private property and converting it to private use. It seems that the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal agency, for years was buying, selling, and swapping land for their own profit. EO 13406 stopped that cold.
Cities, states, and counties probably cannot count on as much federal largess after issuance of that order.