Bill Cameron’s deep voice reverberates in my mind each time I scan stories or headlines. Is a story unclear and ambiguous? What is it communicating to readers? Is the writing too formal? Are the words incomprehensible? Are there more cliches than you can shake a stick at? Was the writer excessively verbal? Was the right word – or tense – used? Should it be singular or plural?
Cameron gently (and with a sense of humor) reminded journalists to think of their audience and present the news in a more palatable fashion.
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Last week the veteran journalist, who influenced many in his profession, died after a battle with cancer.
Cameron was involved with many newsrooms in Western Canada. During his lifetime he worked with CFQC radio in Saskatoon, was a producer and later regional trainer for CBC, and most recently worked with the StarPhoenix.
He also helped coach staff at the Producer a few years ago. Western People readers may recall seeing excerpts from his book, A Way with Words: a light-hearted look at the agony of writing, published in 1979 by Western Producer Prairie Books.
Coaching takes a lot of patience and time. Cameron was handed the rough copy some of us offered him, and perused our masterpieces.
I recall nervously sitting in the cafeteria with him, my marked stories lying on the table between us. My typed words were covered by his handwritten notes, yet the tutorial was far from being traumatic. The lessons on grammar were interspersed with anecdotes about his grandchildren or funny headlines he had come across and saved in shoeboxes.
With an easy manner, Cameron pointed out the errors but continued to be very encouraging. While he aimed for the highest standards, he continued to be modest as he explained no writer’s work is infallible, including his own.
Gazing upon my own collection of shoeboxes filled with amusing newspaper clippings, I realize Cameron’s legacy lives on.
