In the jargon of the spin doctors, today's journalists have a "negative perception problem."
Many people in the public view reporters as pushy and insensitive. The establishment wishes they were more cautious and restrained. Other professional writers chide them for being slapdash.Don Woodward, however, will tell you the criticisms lack credibility. For 39 years at the Deseret News, in fact, he's been a walking rebuttal to them all.
Woodward's ear for English has added grace to many features and columns. His news sense has brought a measured quality to the news.
But most of all, his generous, personal style has set a tone of civility at the paper and in the community.
Deseret News Editor John Hughes used the word "gentleman" to describe him in a recent memo.
Travel writer Kathryn Clayton says, "He's always been caring, always kind. He nurtured me as a writer."
Now, Don Woodward is stepping aside.
He retires as managing editor this week.
And in his own words, his career has been "quite a ride."
"I've really enjoyed newspapering," he says. "You start out and you don't think you're going to be here 39 or 40 years. But if you want to stay in Utah, that's what happens. Recently I've been immersed in the history of the Deseret News. The tradition at this paper is really strong. It's too bad we don't communicate that better to the people who are here.
"We think 39 years is a long time, but there have been people who've worked here for 60 years and put their whole heart into it -- people who were paid with food; people who weren't paid at all. This is a really good newspaper. I think people realize just how good it is when they go to some other town and see the comparison."
Born in Price, Utah, at the "tag-end of the Depression," Woodward moved often as a boy while his parents shopped for jobs. He lived in Arizona and Nevada, eventually coming to roost in Provo. After graduating from Brigham Young University with academic honors, he hired on at the Deseret News in 1961.
During his stint as business editor, he interviewed the likes of J.C. Penney and flew aboard the 747 before it was certified. In the early 1970s he took the helm of the new Today section, now called simply the feature section, and steered it for 10 years. Currently he's managing editor for planning.
While he is the fourth generation of sons named Don Carlos Woodward, he and wife Julie decided to break the mold and name their own son Don Clayton.
His kids -- the offspring of two exceptional journalists -- broke the mold and went into pharmacy (Leslie and Jane) and civil engineering (Clay).
Over the years, Woodward has scaled some pinnacles, winning the Mark E. Petersen Excellence in Writing Award the first two years it was offered, landing a Professional Journalism Fellowship at Stanford and serving in a full array of writing and editorial positions.
He has also been through some pinches and predicaments, though -- with classic class -- he claims none comes to mind.
But what he'll miss most, he says, isn't the profession but the professionals.
"It's not often you get a chance to work with people who are really good; but that's been the case here," he says. "It might sound like I'm making this up, but I've always really respected everyone who worked at the paper. It's an incredibly talented staff."
Always an inventive soul, Woodward has several things planned after retirement. He'll do more woodworking, more oil painting. He says he'd even like to take a few writing classes.
"Maybe I'll go back to the U. and learn how to write," he says. "Those of us who came up through journalism often do things by instinct and say, 'Boy, that works well.' Then, to our astonishment, we learn there's a name for it. I think it would be fun to take a class and have someone tell me what's really going on."
Undoubtedly, he will also be available to lend a hand, or an ear, or an editing change to any young journalist in need.
As mentioned, he's never bought that business about all journalists being "hard-boiled and hard-hearted."
"I guess the thing that's discouraging about what we do is people don't always understand it as much as we hope they will," he says. "We try to be as careful as we can, but there's always someone out there who doesn't understand it as much as we'd like."
Whatever negative impressions people carry around about journalists, none of the blame can be laid at Don Woodward's feet. When Henry David Thoreau huffed, "All journalism is gossip," he may have been speaking for many Americans.
It's just unfortunate Thoreau -- and all those other Americans -- have never had the chance to spend time with Don Woodward.