Dallas Morning News Business Editor Paul O'Donnell The following items were shipped on Monday.
all,
I knew this day would come.
of steve brown The Dallas Morning News era will officially end on March 1st.
It's hard to put into words what Steve's departure means for our newsroom and The News as a trusted local brand.
For 47 years, Steve's byline has been in the news. He is better known locally than anyone else on our staff, and that respect is only surpassed by the widespread respect that Steve enjoys from his real estate colleagues across the country.
He is the quintessential old school and new age journalist. Steve's sense of urgency and competitiveness was instilled in the legendary newspaper war between News and the defunct Times Herald. He fondly speaks to his colleagues of the days when editors would cut out contest articles and leave them on writers' desks along with tersely worded notes.
In Steve's case, the lessons learned during the inky glory days of our industry translated very well to the digital world we now live in. He regularly breaks more news than anyone else on staff (think Universal's new Frisco theme park or Goldman Sachs' big new downtown campus). He approaches every story with an overriding desire to be the first.
And of course, his conversions and page views are legendary within the company. (He personally accounted for almost his 10% of all digital conversions last year). He is also one of our most prolific authors, writing an average of over 12 of his novels a week as of 2023.
But he's also one of the most down-to-earth people we've ever worked with. When the National Association of Real Estate Editors presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award a few years ago, the group's leaders spent weeks secretly gathering tributes to surprise him — no one knew what they had planned. She was afraid that if he found out what she was doing, he wouldn't show up.
Although he thoroughly despises fanfare and fuss, he has reluctantly agreed to toast his career at a press conference later this month. (Please save this as the date is coming soon.)
In a recent self-evaluation, Steve modestly wrote:
“I'm leaving The News after 47 years. It's been a great job and I'll definitely miss it.”
To say we will miss him too is an understatement.
It's truly the end of an era.
