Story and photo by Jamie Folsom
Berthoud Recorder
   
Jim Beneman greeted his audience with irony and humor. “It’s nice to get back to a two-newspaper town again,” he said. Having the Rocky Mountain News close its doors in February means there is “one less voice” in the Denver metro community. But, he added, “Berthoud is lucky.”
   
Beneman shared some of his favorite anecdotes and advice from more than 30 years of experience as a journalist, at the Berthoud Chamber of Commerce luncheon, held at the Berthoud Inn & Events. Although he said the news business is “ugly,” his enthusiasm for new technologies and hopes for continued quality reporting were also evident.
   
He described changes in the industry he’s faced — from the death of easy expense accounts to the birth of do-it-yourself “backpack” journalism. Through it all, he maintains his love for the job itself. “It’s the grind, knowing every script, everything I read, I have approved,” he said.
    
“It’s where the rubber meets the road, and I never get tired of it.”