Remembering Bob Watson

I never had the pleasure of meeting Bob Watson in person and now, sadly, I will never get the chance.

Bob, the veteran statehouse reporter for the Jefferson City News Tribune, died over the weekend at age 68 after a short illness and the outpouring of affection began immediately after the announcement of his passing.

Gov. Mike Parson issued the following statement:



We learned Jefferson City News Tribune's reporter Bob Watson has passed away. I had just recently sat down with him for a one-on-one. Bob will always have my respect.

Our government works best when reporters and politicians do our jobs to the best of our abilities – just like Bob.

I have always been impressed with the volume, thoroughness and overall quality of Bob's coverage and read his work for years.

For the past 12 years, we have e-mailed back and forth dozens of times over a number of stories and about a number of things that have happened in politics and in the newspaper industry. When Bob came across information on his rounds he thought might interest me, he would send me a line. When he wrote about legislative topics that I had written about earlier, he was always kind enough to send me a link.

He also was always quick to steer me away from incorrect notions about what was going on in Jefferson City and to let me know when I made a mistake.

As I read the tributes to Bob the last couple of days, most of them mentioned how kind he was and how supportive he was of younger reporters.

He was also supportive of grizzled, older reporters and I benefited from that for the past dozen years.

When he sent me an e-mail telling me I had made a mistake in one of my posts, he was almost apologetic about it. I was always quick to let him know how much appreciated his help.

Bob Watson had a love of getting the news and getting it right.

I never had a chance to meet Bob face-to-face, but I am forever grateful to have had him as a friend.