Oral History Interview with Jill Labbe, November 8, 2012 Page: 4 of 27

                                
Intervew with J.R.Labbe  4
Labbe: As far as the hardest editorial or column, well, I worked closely with the City Council on
a number of initiatives, and there times where you have to smack their knuckles about spending
of travel money that was not, in our estimation at the paper, a wise stewardship of the public's
dollars. I became very close friends with Mae Ferguson who's the president of Fort Worth Sister
Cities organization (Fort Worth Sister Cities International)- great friend, dance with her, got
my picture tappin' with her to raise money - but I don't believe that a dime of public dollars
should be going to that, what I think, is basically a private travel club.
(leans toward recording device, with smile) "Sorry, Mae! Still do. Love ya!"
So I would have to write  I didn't have to write - we wrote those editorials saying, you know,
international exchanges are wonderful, we understand that, but this is not the city's function.
When we are talking about laying off employees, salary and hiring freezes and cutting services to
the taxpayer, and you're getting 150,000 dollars a year- understanding in the grand scheme of
things that's not a lot of money  but there is a principle there. We were funding amenities and
not true core services that a community needs, and then you have to turn around and sit across
the table from her at your Rotary Club meeting. Or the editorial that you wrote about the mayor
who lost his backbone when it came to voting on whether the police and the firefighters ought to
have meet-and-confer collective bargaining. So ...
(leans toward recording device, smiles) "Love you, Mayor Mike!"
... but that was not the right way to vote, and then you're working on his homeless initiative and
those types of things. So I believe that in my 20 years at the Star-Telegram, I earned their respect
for always being fair, being truthful and, as I saw things, I was never petty or personal in talking
about that. A number of people are my very close friends, but the relationship was, "I love ya,
but I've got a job to do." And I think they respected that and respected me for that. The biggest
compliment that I have had is that, since I left the newspaper, some of those people are still dear
friends of mine. And I worried about that. You know, there's nothing sadder than a former
lawmaker or a journalist; when you're no longer that, nobody loves you anymore, nobody wants
to be your friend. I was a little worried about that, that people who I considered friends- and I
know I have lots of"friends" that I will never see you again- but those who I got close to, I
wouldn't hear from them anymore, and it hasn't turned out that way. Still very close. And that's
nice to see.
Interviewer: How did you know that journalism is something that you wanted to do? You didn't
start in a newspaper.
Labbe: No. Now we get to the really - I am an aberration in the industry. I knew that. I studied
journalism in college, but public relations was my emphasis because I really wanted - I thought