‘MW’ APPLAUSE

Thirty years ago, Apple introduced a new fangled device called the Macintosh, the Winter Olympics opened in Sarajevo and the Summer Games in L.A., the best picture was Terms of Endearment, Hasbro unveiled a new toy called Transformers, and Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale for the presidency.

I know all of this because 1984 was a big year for me too.

At the suggestion of my news director Wally Zimmermann, I would be taken off the crime beat and devote my journalistic efforts solely to a feature series called Mixed Plate.

I went kicking and screaming, because to me it meant being the last story in the newscast instead of the first. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that the biggest story is not necessarily the one that will affect lives.

Telling “good news” is not a bad gig. And when I was asked to spread a little of that warm and fuzzy stuff to the pages of MidWeek, it was a no-brainer.

I receive dozens of letters a week and they all have one thing in common. The authors are compelled to say thank you. They may not know the recipient of their gratitude, but they will not have peace of mind until they express their mahalo.

Included in many of those letters is a big thank you to MidWeek for providing the canvas.

Part of my responsibility as a television journalist is to report all that’s wrong. I am so grateful that I am also tasked with sharing all that’s right.

So this week, my personal standing ovation goes to Ron, Don, Terri and all the staffers who allow readers to write their good news. I don’t know if Mixed Plate has another 30 years of endurance, but I’m betting MidWeek does.

Happy Anny. Now take your APPLAUSE.

pyoung@kitv.com