The comment I heard most often during my years as managing editor of OGJ (1964-78) was: "I don't see how you do it every week!" My response usually was, "There are weeks when I wonder myself."
However, my response was always tongue in cheek. I never really doubted we would not publish every week. Some weeks were (are) tougher than others, but when the sun went down on every Thursday, the Journal always was (is) ready for the pressroom.
Two things make it possible for OGJ to offer a technical-news magazine to a worldwide readership weekly: 1) The people who make up the Journal staff have always been dedicated professionals with a strong work ethic. (There's no other choice. The deadline isn't going away, so you have to build a team that can meet that deadline); 2) There are literally thousands of men and women in the oil business who will help a Journal editor get information and get it right.
Writers and technologists
On Point 1: The Journal staff is made up of two types of people. Some are industry-trained specialists who know the business because they have been a part of the business. And then some OGJ staffers come on board with a writing background. The writers feed off the expertise of fellow staff members with industry experience. And those of us who started as writers help those technologists become better writers.
If you read the resumes of the current Journal staff, you'll see the same mix today. And the staff is so proficient at writing that you really can't tell whether a staff member has a technical or writing background.
Industry Input
It took me only a few weeks to learn Point 2. My first major assignment shortly after joining OGJ in l954 was to write about the changes taking place in the contract drilling industry. I was a district editor working in the Tulsa office and knew very little about the contract drilling business. But I had been a newspaper reporter for several years and knew how to ask questions. For that first assignment, I had people all over the industry feed me information.
I really learned about how helpful OGJ readers can be when I was transferred to Los Angeles in 1960 as the West Coast editor. My assignment was to cover news and technology in PADD 5, which meant dealing with subjects that were way over my head. So, I immediately started locating people who could help me over the rough spots. I had sources at all levels and in all disciplines of the industry: geologists, petroleum engineers, chemical engineers, pipeliners, etc. All had one thing in common: to help me get the right information into the Journal.
And contacts within this industry tend to stay with you forever. One of my last major assignments at Penn- Well in the early 1990s was to help develop a game plan to offer some former Soviet Union maps to the industry. Two of the people I called for advice were members of the top management of their companies, people I had known for years. They helped me as a senior vice-president of PennWell just like they would had I been a district editor in Tulsa trying to learn something about the drilling business.
So when the next issue of OGJ hits your desk, remember a lot of people are behind making this weekly event a reality.
