Life lessons from my mentor - Fine Point Communications

Friends, allow me to introduce you to one of my old bosses, Fred Hiatt.

Fred, who died this month at age 66, was largely an unknown despite overseeing two of journalism’s most influential platforms: The Washington Post’s editorial page and op-ed page. He handled this terribly demanding job masterfully, managing complicated personalities and relationships with good humor, wise words and loads of humanity.

I worked for Fred during an especially tumultuous period: Ownership of The Post would change hands, and the editorial department pivoted from a print focus to meet the needs of a growing online audience. Despite the upheaval, Fred remained unflappable.

Our desks were barely a dozen steps apart, and this vantage allowed me to observe Fred over the years and to learn from him.

I came to admire Fred deeply for qualities that he brought not just to his work but also to his life. Although I’ve been gone from the paper for years, I continue to prize what he taught me through his example:

First, be a good person

Memorials about Fred invariably mentioned his profound kindness and decency. Perhaps that common thread says more about journalism — a field not known, by and large, for charmers — than about Fred.

Yet he did have a remarkable way of quickly putting anyone at ease upon first meeting and then of focusing fully on what the person had to say. He made you feel special.

That feeling would not fade over time: Fred was genuinely interested in others as complex, multidimensional people, not just in our professional roles. For Fred, a minor but painful cost of COVID-19 was the opportunity to drop into an office and just catch up.

And he adored children. Nothing could derail Fred from work better than a kid visiting the office.

Know your values, and stand up for them

Fred held many convictions, yet the one that stood out to me was his faith in collective wisdom.

Like Socrates, Fred believed that truth could be discerned best by repeatedly sounding out others, especially those with contrary views, and listening closely to their viewpoints. Testing your judgments against such a kaleidoscope of opinions forces you to adapt to new arguments. In the process, wisdom can be more fully revealed. (But not always: On the Iraq War, it must be noted, Fred and his editorial colleagues still failed to glean the truth.)

Fred’s son Joe would call this “a relentless pursuit of conflicting yet rational perspectives,” and relentless is indeed the word. This is an exhausting philosophy to live out. Not only are your assumptions under constant challenge, but you must seek out (and, in Fred’s case, amplify) views that you might find personally objectionable.

Over the years, Fred hired many, many writers as The Post pursued collective wisdom. All he asked of them was to engage in good faith with the issues of the day and to show why a particular point of view was reasonable and well-founded. For his part, he would then back that writer completely, no matter how much heat came his way.

Fred’s implied message was clear to me, if not always to readers: “On this point, we can disagree. Nevertheless, we are neighbors and must work together, and that begins from listening to one another.”

Remain a student of the world

When I learned that Fred could speak five languages, I wasn’t surprised. It just testified to his unquenchable curiosity.

Long after his days as a foreign correspondent, when he was bound to his Washington desk, Fred continued to delve into the wide world.

Human rights interested him particularly; many of his biweekly columns promoted the cause of jailed dissidents around the world. (The most famous may be the free-speech martyr Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered by Saudi agents.)

But his interests ran wide, and he was astonishingly well-read.

This ranging curiosity also drove, I believe, his habit of hiring young people for a department that, historically, had attracted graybeards. These newcomers allowed Fred to tap into the knowledge of a younger generation, to see the world through their eyes, and to hear their passion about the future and their sense of opportunity.

Embrace the opportunities for joy

Certain workplaces can become dens of negativity, and editorial departments are particularly susceptible, as writers focus time and again on the worst offenses, the most egregious sins. The environment can be corrosive. Yet Fred recoiled from this.

Rather, he sought ways to bring cheering elements to his part of The Post. Recognizing that our lives involve tragedy and comedy, he hired a humor writer, then handed her one of his crown jewels — a weekly column spot in the paper. He invested in editorial cartooning, not only putting two cartoonists on staff but also giving up more of that valuable print space to promote another four or five syndicated cartoonists every week.

In his columns and editorials, he took care to spotlight people doing good in the world, those working on the side of the angels.

Don Graham, the former owner of The Post, says the theme of Fred’s writings over many years was not how terrible things are but rather “was how good this country is, how good the ideals of the United States are, and how important that we live up to them.”

On a daily level, Fred would take pleasure in an hour on the phone with his youngest child as they completed the New York Times crossword puzzle together. He would anticipate Friday-night pizza with the copy desk, as it closed out the weekend editions, before scooting out to greet his wife.

After I left the paper, Fred became a grandfather, and I loved hearing the stories about how joyously he embraced this new role. It was easy to imagine him flashing that slightly cockeyed smile of his at his granddaughter as they played and played.

Fred’s death was a shockingly sudden end to a vibrant life. Amid my sadness, though, I am grateful for the opportunity to have known him, and his life lessons remain for me a moral North Star that shines bright.

What’s new at Fine Point Communications

I mentioned last month that I’ve started work with some new clients, and one has published my first story for them: Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center is launching a collaborative-care initiative that embeds mental-health professionals alongside primary-care providers at ColumbiaDoctors clinics.

I have a few pieces in production, and I look forward to sharing those with you in the new year.