Then, he shares his thoughts.
Named editorial page editor at the Sacramento Bee in December, Morain’s thoughts grab more attention than your average blogger. Along with the column he has written since 2010 Morain oversees content of 17 opinion pages per week that include letters to the editor, commentary and editorials.
“I’m not aware of any other newspaper in California that devotes that much space to opinion journalism,” Morain said. “At the Sacramento Bee, we use those pages to encourage discussion and agenda, most of it about the most influential state among the 50.”
Morain’s appointment gives Humboldt State a clean sweep of the top two newspaper editorial positions in Northern California. He joins John Diaz, opinion page editor at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1996 and 2008 Humboldt State Distinguished Alumni award recipient.
“(Morain is the) perfect choice,” Diaz said. “As much as I know it’s going to be challenging to compete against him, I think the Bee, journalism and the people of California are going to be well served by having a watchdog of his caliber at the helm.”
The list of Humboldt State professors who prepared both Diaz and Morain for their prestigious careers reads like a “Who’s Who” of the school’s journalism instructors, including Mac McClary, Mark Larson, Sheilyn Bennion and Pete Wilson. Like many others, Morain found a mentor in Howard Seeman, a member of the journalism faculty from 1969-98 and advisor to The Lumberjack student newspaper for 28 years. Seeman passed away in 2006.
“Howard gave me an F on my first journalism final because I misspelled a name,” Morain said. “But he encouraged me to stick with it, and I listened. He remains one of the most interesting men I ever met.”
Larson remembers Morain as a particularly bright star during an era that featured a constellation of outstanding future journalists.
“While still early in my teaching career here at HSU, I was very impressed by Dan Morain as a student and a serious-minded young journalist who loved to write – and who was not afraid to ask questions of anyone in authority,” Larson said. “His only weakness as a student at the time was a reluctance to develop photojournalism skills – but his sense of humor, enthusiasm and honest opinions about life in general made him stand out in any class.”
“Yeah, I regret now that I didn’t listen to Mark about the importance of photography,” Morain said.
Looking back at his college experience, Morain marvels about the success of other students who honed their skills writing and reporting for The Lumberjack. Along with Diaz others who remain entrenched in the field include Larry Parsons at the Monterey Herald and Dave Hill at the Merced Sun Star. Morain credits HSU’s journalism program with his own and others’ success.
“It’s a great department,” Morain said. “That’s obvious when you look at how many really good journalists it has graduated.”
Diaz agrees. “It’s not an accident,” he said. “I can’t say enough about the quality of HSU’s journalism program. We were mentored by professors who knew the business and cared deeply about the students, and we were surrounded by classmates who were talented and ambitious and helped get us ready to enter the profession. It was a special time and a special place.”
Along with his colleagues, Morain gained his footing during a time when traditional journalism outlets flourished, with politics, the expansion of Redwood National Park and environmental issues dominating local news.
“Dan established himself as a fearless, principled, substantive journalist at a time when we were just beginning to learn the craft,” Diaz said. “He did not just cover the highly contentious issues around Redwood National Park in the mid-1970s, he owned the beat for the Lumberjack. Our coverage was every bit as good as the national papers covering the issue. He was amazingly thorough, an inspiration for the rest of us. There was no doubt about it: This guy was going places.”
Post college, Morain began his career at the Madera Tribune in July of 1977. He quickly moved on through a series of newspaper jobs, each time taking his skills to a larger publication. He eventually took a position with the Los Angeles Herald Examiner in 1979.
In 1981 Morain was hired by the Los Angeles Times, embarking upon a 28-year stint covering government, including the governor’s office. Prior to moving into the opinion editor position, Morain served the Sacramento Bee as a columnist, senior editor and member of the editorial board.
While the means of delivery has evolved, the need for reporting the message is still important, Morain said.
“The Bee has been publishing for more than 150 years,” Morain said. “There aren’t a lot of businesses that can claim that. That tells me there is still a need for honest journalism.”