Reporter Bob Watson, a 30-year employee of the Jefferson City News Tribune and 45-year veteran of journalism in Mid-Missouri, was recently named the W.E. Hussman Employee of the Year for WEHCO Media's Palmer Division of newspapers.
To be eligible for the company's highest employee honor, Watson first was named Employee of the Quarter then 2018 Employee of the Year for Central Missouri Newspapers.
Watson began work with the Jefferson City News Tribune on Jan. 23, 1989. He's covered community and school news, the courts and high-profile criminal cases. However, he's also covered the death of a Missouri governor, the resignation of a governor and numeroust presidential visits. In each of those settings, he's among the first to ask those probing, sometimes uncomfortable questions that help News Tribune readers understand the issues and challenges the community is facing.
Watson's coworkers jokingly call him the "bulldog" for his determination to find out the truth. He is a friend and mentor to many of those coworkers in the newsroom and other departments, and he has earned it by typically being the first one to welcome new employees with enthusiasm, offering a hand if they need help in their respective beats.
For 30 years, Watson has delivered the news honestly, fairly, objectively and without personal opinion. Because of that approach, he has achieved an extraordinary level of credibility within the newsroom and the community.
"The politicians, educators, community leaders and many others he has covered know that a story written by Bob Watson will be accurate, informative and well-read," Managing Editor Gary Castor said. "His straightforward nature has built trust in many vital sources for the News Tribune."
WECHO Media's Palmer Division includes six companies: Central Missouri Newspapers, which operates the Jefferson City News Tribune, Fulton Sun and California Democrat in Mid-Missouri; the Texarkana Gazette in Texarkana, Texas; the Sentinel Record in Hot Springs, Arkansas; the El Dorado News Times in El Dorado, Arkansas; the Camden News in Camden, Arkansas; and the Magnolia Banner News in Magnolia, Arkansas.