Long Time Sports Writer at Sun Herald, Doug Barber, Retires

This week, the Sun Herald is saying goodbye to a long time staff member. After 33 years of service to the Gulf Coast, sports writer, Doug Barber, is retiring.

Barber has walked the sidelines, taking notes for the last time. After 33 years, he’s putting his notepad down. To him, covering sports is more than just the Xs and Os, it’s about connecting with the young, local athletes whose stories he gets to tell. Barber says, "You run into people you wrote a story about 15 or 20 years ago and you don’t even remember writing the story, but it really meant something to them. So that tells me that what we’re doing, every story we do can be important to somebody."

Barber not only touched the lives of those he wrote about, but those who surrounded him in the newsroom as well. He served as a mentor to those following in his footsteps. Patrick Magee, sports writer for the Sun Herald, says, "Doug as a person, he’s a good guy. He’s easy to get along with, easy to work with. I’ve been here a little over two years now and he made the transition really easy for me, you know. I could really rely on him."

From high school football to the Saints, Barber covered it all for the Sun Herald. Something he’ll always remember is watching Brett Favre grow from a high school player at Hancock North Central into one of the best quarterbacks in N.F.L. history. Barber closes, "I’m up there and Southern Miss, they’re playing my alma mater, Tulane, and Brett comes in just before halftime and just turns the whole game around and then he goes to be one of the all-time great quarterbacks and Southern Miss and then his N.F.L. career."

Tuesday afternoon, the Sun Herald staff honored a man who has helped shape the newsroom into what it is today. Barber’s co-workers say they will truly miss him and wish him nothing but the best.