Federal Diarist's Farewell
I was surprised to learn last week Stephen Barr will be taking a buyout and leaving his post as "Federal Diary" columnist for the Washington Post. This is a big loss for the people who cover the federal government -- and those who work for it.
The news business is highly competitive, and Steve always has been a tough competitor, routinely uncovering nuggets of news before the rest of us. But he's also always been a gracious colleague, more than willing to share his expertise with others on the federal beat. And he's always treated other reporters, no matter how young or inexperienced, as equals.
I fondly recall many hours spent with Steve covering hearings, meetings and events related to Al Gore's reinventing government effort, he as a seasoned journalist who knew all the right questions to ask, and me as a green reporter just trying to keep my eyes and ears open.
Sorry if this sounds like a euology, because it's not. I have no doubt that Steve will go on to do other great things in the new phase of his career that will start after he moves on in mid-June. But we'll miss him.
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Government Executive Staff Correspondent Alyssa Rosenberg takes a look at news affecting the management and operations of the massive federal bureaucracy.
Darn!
As a DC area resident and civilian employee Stephen Barr's columns in the Post have been the gospel for years. For many of us that read the post the first thing we do is flip to the "Federal Diary".
His weekly chat sessions were great too especially during the start of open season in which we could participate and ask questions to insurance reps.
Best of luck to Mr. Barr. Hopefully he'll turn up on one of these sites!
DC
DC Federal Employee Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008 6:30 PMBarr will be missed, I hope the Post will continue writing for its federal worker readers. They'd be smart to hire govexec.com's management matters columnist, Brian Friel., to do Federal Diary.
DC reader Posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008 3:05 PMI haver read that column for over 30 years and look forward to its return
Lemick Posted Tuesday, July 8, 2008 6:38 AM