Dave's done it all in the Eagle newsroom
The Butler Eagle newsroom suffered a massive loss Friday as a man who represents 45 years of news gathering retired.
David Heastings — or just “Dave” to all who know, love and respect him — took his leave from the newspaper at the close of the day. His experience and news savvy will be all but impossible to replace.
Heastings began his long career at the Eagle as a general assignment reporter with his hire on March 14, 1973.
After reporting on many and varied county events, meetings and spot news for 15 years, Heastings accepted the position of city editor in 1988.
Dozens of reporters over the years have benefited from Dave's quiet, but invaluable, advice and direction on which way to turn for news stories.
Dave laments that young people increasingly are getting their news from social media or other sites run by individuals with no journalism skills or background.“People don't know how much monitoring and editing goes on before the story sees the light of day at a newspaper,” Heastings said.He also appreciates getting the newspaper and leafing through the various articles, editorials, headlines and ads as opposed to gazing at a computer screen.“There's something about papers. They're a certainty,” Heastings said. “For very little money, you get at least one thing out of the paper that means something to you.”He hopes the younger generations will embrace the medium and recognize its value.“It's democracy in action,” Heastings said.<i>Read more about Dave and his time at the Eagle in Sunday's Butler Eagle.</i>
