Last Updated: July 28, 2000
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An American Editor
Janet Weaver
Birthday: May 6, 1963
Hometown: Ooltewah, Tenn. — near Chattanooga
Married: For seven years to Mark Weaver
Children: Sam, 3; Rachel, 1
Self portrait: Loud, funny, self-critical, empathetic, intuitive
Bad habit: Drinking WAY too much Pepsi
Pet peeve: Using the word over to mean “more than’’ instead of
“above.’’
Most dangerous story: I uncovered corruption in a flood-control
taxing district that was being run by a cabal of landowners who stood to
profit by condemnation proceedings. I was threatened and my editor’s car
was tampered with. The stories resulted in tighter state controls of independent
taxing districts.
Best interview and why: The author Peter Matthiesson. I was a
very young reporter at the time and was in awe of his talent. He dismissed
the university flack who wanted to monitor our interview and spent two
hours talking with me about writing. He was warm and generous to a very
green journalist when he could have blown me off entirely.
My newspaper’s strength: Juggling the demands of our readers
to provide intense daily coverage with the need to put reporting resources
into the bigger explanatory or investigative story.
Worst part of job: Managing long-term low performers.
Best part of job: Debating with Managing Editor Rosemary Armao
and the rest of the staff about how to put together the news report.
Vacation spot: Key West or the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Books at bedside: “Traveling Mercies’’ by Anne Lamott; “Curious
George and the Puppies’’ by H.A. Rey.
Best advice I could give a 20-year-old: Don’t spend your life
worrying about things you can’t control. You can only live in the moment
you are in, so don’t torture yourself over past failings or borrow trouble
from tomorrow.
My trademark expression: “Let’s just throw our hats over the
wall and try it.’’
My best asset is: A sense of humor and a sense of perspective.
Behind my back, employees say: “I wish she’d stop throwing her
hat over that darn wall.”
I wish I were a leader like: Sandy Rowe of The Oregonian in Portland.
She is warm, she is tough, she sets the bar high and she is able to look
at herself and those closest to her with a critical eye.
My most difficult decision as a leader: Hiring a managing editor.
I knew that decision would set the course of my editorship and determine
how the newsroom would develop. I made the right call.
My worst decision as a leader: My failure to recognize and admit
the failings of the team-based structure I helped build at The Wichita
(Kan.) Eagle. I should have tweaked it early and often rather than clinging
to ideas in hopes they would work eventually.
Tips on leadership: Know when to solicit ideas and opinions from
your staff and when a decision is yours alone to make. Make sure your newsroom
understands those boundaries, too. Newsrooms want leaders who lead; don’t
be afraid to make a decision and don’t hide behind excuses when you make
it.
What I worry about most is: The same thing most working moms
worry about: Am I giving enough to my kids? Am I giving enough to the job?
I’m happiest when: When I am reading books with Sam and Rachel,
the two most fantastic kids in the world.
