diff --git a/src/nmdc-log-service/main.go b/src/nmdc-log-service/main.go
index eff93e7..f44e1d7 100644
--- a/src/nmdc-log-service/main.go
+++ b/src/nmdc-log-service/main.go
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func main() {
 	// Assert dir exists
 	dinfo, err := os.Stat(BaseDir)
 	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "FATAL: %s", err.Error())
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "FATAL: %s\n", err.Error())
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 	if !dinfo.IsDir() {