It’s a -30- after 33 years for Bill Rogers. That’s not quite accurate. The 33 only accounts for the years he’s been at the helm of the South Carolina Press Association.
Heck, after dusting off Bill’s resume for another look, it seems Bill is much older than he claims. That’s a lot of newspapering and even military service, plus teaching, before taking the helm of the press association.
I’ve been associated with Bill for all but two years of his 33-year run at SCPA since migrating south from the other Carolina in 1990. Considering the changes our industry has gone through during that three-decade run, it’s amazing how Bill hasn’t really changed much.
Oh, sure, maybe a pound or two more, but I attribute that to his teaming up with S.C. Press Association attorney extraordinaire Jay Bender, Esquire, as they conducted their own barbecue judging across the state and, possibly, points beyond. He’s a certified Kansas City Barbeque Society judge and a founding member of the S.C. Barbeque Association, which allows for some meat on those bones.
But Bill seems to maintain a steady demeanor. That’s not to say he hasn’t had outbursts or gone on some profanity-laced rants. He’s a journalist, for one, and any stint in the Navy requires certain words be in one’s lexicon.
For a sampling, all you had to do was be around Bill when government or elected officials thumbed their noses at the state Freedom of Information Act.
As executive director of the press association, Bill has been passionate about journalism, more specifically newspaper journalism where he got his start. He has led the organization well and been a champion of all things that make for a stronger Fourth Estate in South Carolina. When it comes to FOIA, however, his passion is unbridled.
It is a passion he shared with John Shurr, the state’s longtime Associated Press bureau chief, and Jay Bender, who devoted and, despite retiring at least from teaching, still devotes countless hours in the fight for transparency in government.
My own interest in and pursuit of government transparency and the state’s Freedom of Information Act can be attributed to all three men, most assuredly Bill. The Navy taught Bill a word or two, but I think it’s Jay who taught Bill the proper lawyer term used when someone violates the state’s FOIA: BS. Only, the full word would easily roll off his tongue.
Through the years, I’ve been exposed to Bill’s wealth of knowledge. I’ve witnessed his passion for our shared career and I’ve seen him in action as a teacher when he visited newsrooms and led training on libel, photography and, of course, FOIA. Busy as he is during the winter meetings, Bill has always taken time to chat and catch up. It doesn’t hurt that we share another passion or two: a cigar paired with a fine brown liquor.
But I think the fact that Bill is old school speaks to our kinship. I might be able to work my way around some of the newfangled ways we do things in this digital era a little better than Bill, but we’re largely cut from the same cloth. That’s when interviews meant precariously perched desk phones led to sore necks, when cigarettes and coffee were staples of any newsroom, when clickety-clack typewriters were the dominant sound in a newsroom and when sources were only interviewed in person or by phone, not by email.
Press Association board meetings and roundtables will not be the same with Bill’s retirement. Heck, they haven’t been the same since COVID-19 hit and forced us all into Zoom meetings and deprived us of barbecue lunches, which were typically followed by burning a good stick and conversing with Bill on the back patio picnic table.
Maybe Bill will drop in on occasion and we can do that. I’m already lining him up for a visit here at the IJ to lead one or two of his seminars after retirement. No Powerpoint slides; just good old-fashion handouts. Then, maybe some barbecue, a stick and a beverage afterward.
Thanks, Bill, for your leadership of one of the nation’s top press associations. Thank you for your passionate support of journalism, your tenacity for keeping — or trying to keep — the big boys honest and, best of all, your friendship.