Russell J. Flanagan

I had the privilege of working with Russ at the New Jersey Herald. At that time seven years ago, I was his Front Page editor working the night shift and Saturday beat and he was a very new reporter. I remember my first night on the job Kenny Rogers was supposed to have a concert at the Fairgrounds and it had gotten cancelled because of rain and so I wrote what I thought was the most information headline … “Kenny knows when to fold them” and the next day Russ came into the newsroom (I had not yet met him) and with his big infectious smile he threw the copy on my desk and said, “this headline is brilliant – we are so going to be friends.” And we were … Russ used to love when I would concept my headlines out loud for him to critique. One night we had a photo that showcased this local farm and the farmers daughter was holding a big basket of apples, well she happened to be really well endowed and so I mocked up the front page and left it on Russ’ desk with the headline that read “How About Them Apples” – he kept that on his wall of honor right next to Princess Leia for the longest time. He had a great sense of humor. I actually looked forward to coming into work every night just to banter with him. He was intelligent and insightful and an excellent reporter. The last time I saw Russ was at a colleagues wedding, on New Years Eve a couple of years ago. We sat together as we did for so many nights in the Newsroom and we laughed about so many things that had happened while we were on the desk. My final memory of him is dancing with him as midnight struck – looking back now I can’t think of a better way to remember a beloved friend. I am no longer a Front Page editor but if I had to write a headline for Russ today it would probably say, “God Recruits Really Good Guy”