Little did I know that I wasn’t writing fiction below.

I have learned that longtime Argus Leader Statehouse reporter Terry Woster will be a victim of the Argus Leader’s impending cuts.

Figures that the Argus would get rid of most of their institutional knowledge about state government and politics as well as a very fine reporter and person.  And one of their higher paid reporters.  And older.   Hmmm.

And I guess covering Pierre and state government isn’t all that damned important. 

My source on this is Heather Marie Mangan, formerly of Pierre and formerly a neighbor of Terry’s.

An excerpt from her blog:

The afternoon of 2008 election, The Argus Leader informed Terry that he would be let go. After decades of serving the South Dakota public, Terry will close the bureau and say goodbye in December.

Forthose of us that know the newspaper business, this is another lost solider. Another dedicated, tenured, respected journalist, whose salary has become too big for suffering newspapers to handle. When Gannett told The Argus it needed to make a 10 percent cut, the biggest expenses had to go. Unfortunately, that happens to be the newspaper’s best reporter.

My boss told me about this today, and as a former newspaper woman married to a newspaper man, she was disgusted. “No one is immune,” she said. She told me that I made the best decision by getting out of the biz. She told me to tell my friend, who was sitting next to me at the time and a reporter for The Rapid City Journal, to get out. It’s not a safe business to be anymore. Each day great employees are being cut because of budgets, such as my former coworker at the ISJ. Or extremely talented reporters are leaving because the future is so dark and clouded.

I have an email into Terry for confirmation. 

I know few of you will cry any tears for what appears to be the demise of or at least the likely increasing suckiness of the Argus Leader.  But we need good newspapers in our democracy.  As much as I think blogging and citizen journalism have been important adjuncts to the traditional press, the MSM—including the Argus—still does it better with more resources.  At least for a while longer.

Good luck to Terry Woster in his next endeavor.  He deserved better from the Argus.