Career: Bhatia has been managing editor of The Oregonian since 1993. Previously, he was executive editor of The Fresno (Calif.) Bee in California. He went to Fresno from The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, where he was managing editor. He also has worked as managing editor of the York (Pa.) Dispatch, the Dallas Times Herald and the San Francisco Examiner, where he worked for 10 years.

ASNE activities: A member of ASNE since 1987, he has co-chaired the editorial board of ASNE’s magazine and will head the 1999 ASNE Convention Program Committee. Other committees he has served on are Change, Future of Newspapers and Minorities. He has served as a convention floor manager.

Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE must be a journalist, reporting the dramatic change facing our industry and helping editors embrace, understand and employ (as they choose) the applications of that change. Reader needs, new content, technology, diversity, economics, organizational changes — ASNE must be expert on all these topics and must continue to aggressively report its findings, with a goal of helping us all become better-skilled and more effective editors. At the same time, ASNE must stay rooted in the traditions and skills that make journalism a key part of the American fabric, through its sponsorship of work such as the Journalism Values Institute.

Phil Currie, Senior Vice President/News, Gannett Co. Inc., Arlington, Va.

Career: Currie began as a reporter in 1964 on the Rochester (N.Y.) Times-Union, where he also worked as an editorial writer and executive city editor. In 1977, he moved to the News Division of Gannett Co. Inc., and has held corporate roles including director of news staff development, vice president/news for community newspapers, vice president/news and his present position of senior vice president/news. In that role he works on news matters with editors and publishers at 90 Gannett newspapers.

ASNE activities: He joined ASNE in 1987. His committee work has concentrated on the Small Newspapers Committee, which he currently heads. He has also served on the Nominations, Future of Newspapers, and Human Resources committees.

Aspirations for ASNE: We are at a crossroads in our profession and in our business. Time pressures and alternative forms of information present increasing challenges to newspaper readership. Information flies at potential readers from more directions. Yet we also have a tremendous opportunity to move forward, helping readers better understand what’s happening around them and helping them cope with those happenings. ASNE can address the challenges and the opportunities. It should do so in a way that allows ample room for deep thinking and honest debate, for practical advice and professional growth, for innovation and inspiration. Long-held journalism values centered on the First Amendment should never go away. But they can be augmented by fresh approaches to meeting reader needs. ASNE can be an energizing forum for combining traditional values and new thinking. That is the environment to foster — and it is the environment that can move newspapers everywhere ahead.

Leonard Downie Jr., Executive Editor, The Washington Post

Career: Downie has been executive editor of The Washington Post since 1991, after serving as managing editor for seven years. He has worked at the Post for more than 30 years. His titles there have included reporter, assistant managing editor for metropolitan news, deputy metropolitan editor, London correspondent, and national editor.

ASNE activities: He joined ASNE in 1985 and has been a longtime member of ASNE’s FOI Committee.

Aspirations for ASNE: I would like to see ASNE do more to help editors with the basics of their increasingly difficult jobs: How to find, hire and manage the best people. How to increase and utilize real diversity in our newsrooms. How to increase the depth, authority and relevance of our reporting, the power and readability of our writing, the storytelling impact of our photography and graphics, the grace of our design. How to cooperate with circulation and advertising departments on new features and sections while maintaining editorial integrity. How to meet the demands of new reader interests and still give them the news. How to evaluate and cope with industry fads like public journalism and new-age newsroom reorganizations. How to integrate the printed newspaper with Internet sites. How to decide tough ethical questions and handle legal threats. How to enable our staffs and ourselves to enjoy our unique profession.

• Karla Garrett Harshaw, Editor, Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun

ASNE activities: The current chair of the ASNE Ethics and Values Committee, she has played a key role in the development of ASNE’s Journalism Values Institute. She has also served on the Convention Program, Literacy and Minorities committees. Harshaw is the incoming chair of the Education for Journalism Committee. She joined ASNE in 1992 and was elected to the board in 1995.

Aspirations for ASNE: I am proud to be a journalist. Despite the public’s angst about news coverage, I still believe that the foundation of this profession is sound and that journalism remains a pillar of democracy. I hope that ASNE will continue to lead in projects such as the Journalism Values Institute to help us better serve our communities. Through JVI and other projects, ASNE should help secure newspapers as the most reliable sources of news and information in traditional print, as well as an equally essential component in new media. ASNE also is uniquely qualified to address the public’s perceptions of the media and position the industry for the 21st century.

Edward W. Jones, Managing Editor, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

Career: Ed Jones began work with The Free Lance-Star as a high school intern in 1965. He started full time as a reporter at the newspaper in 1973. He became editorial page editor in 1979 and managing editor in 1989.

ASNE activities: A member of ASNE since 1990, Jones has worked on a number of committees, including FOI, Literacy, Convention Program, Ethics, New Media, and Small Newspapers. He will head the Convention Program Committee in 1997-98. He has served as a floor manager.

Aspirations for ASNE: My goals for ASNE reflect my background as a proud member of a dwindling breed. I have spent my entire career at a family-owned, independent, small daily in my hometown of Fredericksburg, Va. Yet I also have had the opportunity to serve in a variety of national roles. That experience convinces me that ASNE should offer programs and conventions that focus on the basics of journalism but that also inspire editors to think big. High on my priority list are leadership skills, staying ahead of the expertise curve and media credibility. More regional meetings would be a great help to the editors of smaller newspapers. As program chair for 1998, I believe ASNE can help all of us prepare for the next century by documenting the trends of the past couple of decades. Are we devoting as much attention to public affairs journalism? Are our newsholes shrinking? The answers will help us shape the future.

Ralph E. Langer, Executive Vice President and Editor, The Dallas Morning News

Career: Langer is a former managing editor of the Port Angeles (Wash.) Daily News, copy editor at the Detroit Free Press, managing editor of the Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald and editor of the Herald, Everett, Wash. He joined The Dallas Morning News in 1981 as managing editor, was named executive editor in 1983, senior vice president in 1991, and became executive vice president and editor in 1997.

ASNE activities: He has served on ASNE’s FOI, Convention Program, and Membership committees and chaired the First Amendment Committee. He joined ASNE in 1969.

Aspirations for ASNE: Today’s editors are wrestling a horde of key issues with which ASNE can help. Editors are concerned about responding to often-declining readership and circulation. We worry about the proper relationship of our newspaper and the Internet. Economic pressures often seem to overlay every decision. We know having a diverse staff is the right thing to do for many reasons but progress has been agonizingly slow. Management for the rest of the 1990s and into the next century certainly will be interesting and challenging. And stressful. ASNE is a pool of human and other resources to help us with all of these things and others that we’ll surely face. ASNE will need to be creative and flexible. I look forward to participating in that effort.

• Linda C. Lightfoot, Executive Editor, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

ASNE activities: She chaired the Press/Bar Committee and is currently co-chair of The American Editor editorial board. She also has served on the FOI and Nominations committees, and as a convention floor manager and election judge. She has been a longtime election judge and will chair the Nominations Committee in 1997-98. She joined ASNE in 1988 and was elected to the ASNE board in 1996.

Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE should take the lead in fostering public understanding and acceptance of the role of a free press in our communities, our country and abroad. We must preserve and promote those values and principles that enable us to earn the trust and respect of our readers.

Wanda S. Lloyd, Managing Editor/ Features, Administration and Planning, The Greenville (S.C.) News

Career: Before joining The Greenville News in 1996, Lloyd was senior editor/days and administration at USA Today. Previously, she worked at the Providence (R.I.) Evening Bulletin, The Miami Herald, The Atlanta Journal and The Washington Post. While with the Post, she was deputy Washington editor for the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service.

ASNE activities: A member since 1989, Lloyd has chaired the Human Resources Committee and co-chaired the ASNE Bulletin editorial board. Currently she is a member of the Writing Awards Board. She has worked on the Convention Program, Minorities, and People with Disabilities committees, and has served as a floor manager, press chair and election judge. She was editor of The ASNE Reporter in 1992.

Aspirations for ASNE: My hope for ASNE is to help make the organization more useful to members and the organizations we represent. Our programs need to help us become better managers, better editors and better journalists, which, of course, makes for better and more relevant newspapers that serve diverse audiences. We face a lot of challenges as we strive to retain readers and customers, and to reflect our communities. I want ASNE to help members cope with these challenges, and provide avenues for personal and professional growth.

• Diane H. McFarlin, Executive Editor, Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune

ASNE activities: She joined ASNE in 1987 and is currently FOI Committee chair. She also has chaired the Literacy and Education for Journalism committees. She will chair the Ethics and Values Committee in 1998-99. Her other committee work has included Convention Program, International Communication and the Writing Awards Board. McFarlin has represented ASNE on the journalism school accrediting council. She was elected to the ASNE board in 1994.

Aspirations for ASNE: Protection of First Amendment freedoms and the core values of journalism should remain at the top of ASNE’s agenda. Other perennial concerns are diversity, readership, education and professional development. The future of our industry, meanwhile, is the subject that needs more of our attention than ever. What will be the impact of new technology? How do we ensure the viability of newspapers as institutions? ASNE should continue to explore change in our industry and how editors can effectively balance the roles of standard-bearer and pioneer.

Robert W. Mong, Publisher, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Career: Mong came to Owensboro after nearly 17 years with The Dallas Morning News, where he was managing editor from 1990 to 1996. In his 25 years in the business, he has worked as reporter, editor and publisher.

ASNE activities: He is incoming chair of the Human Resources Committee and formerly chaired the Minorities Committee. He’s also been a member of the Future of Newspapers Committee. Mong joined ASNE in 1988.

Aspirations for ASNE: I’ve benefited enormously from ASNE membership and the professional reinforcement it provides. At its heart, ASNE rallies our desire to serve American readers with honesty, integrity and imagination. ASNE must continue to encourage blunt industry self-examination without neglecting strategies of hope and opportunity. ASNE must encourage inventive ways to attract more diverse talent to our business. We also could stand to expand and refine our various relationships with American colleges and universities.

Rick Rodriguez, Managing Editor, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee

Career: Rodriguez joined The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee in 1982 as a reporter. He has worked as a Bee editorial writer, deputy capital bureau chief, assistant managing editor and columnist. He has been in his current position since 1993. Rodriguez previously worked at The Fresno (Calif.) Bee and the Salinas Californian as a reporter.

ASNE activities: He is the incoming chair of the Diversity Committee. He has been a member of the Convention Program, Change and Minorities committees. A former convention floor manager, he chairs the 1997 floor managers. He joined ASNE in 1993.

Aspirations for ASNE: In delivering a "Diversity Moment" at the 1994 ASNE convention, I said that my family taught me to care about people; to be passionate about what I believe; and to stick to my principles. Those early lessons became the building blocks of my journalism career. And I would use them as a guide for my priorities for ASNE. Our industry is about people. We need to invest in them and nurture them. We need to continue to diversify our newsrooms and news pages. We should continue to be passionate about our business. We must adapt to a changing marketplace but at the same time be the advocates for an industry that will thrive for decades as the foundation for democracy. And we must continue to stand for the principles that attracted us to this profession: truth, fairness, balance and community good, moving into the future without abandoning the past.

Matthew V. Storin, Editor, The Boston Globe

Career: Storin began his career in his native Springfield, Mass., at the Springfield Daily News. After a year he joined the Griffin-Larrabee News Bureau in Washington covering New England. He first worked at the Globe in 1969, as White House correspondent in the Washington bureau, and worked in a variety of jobs there for 15 years, including city editor, Asian correspondent, national editor and managing editor. He left the Globe in 1985 to become deputy managing editor of U.S. News & World Report. Subsequently he was editor and senior vice president of the Chicago Sun-Times, editor of the Maine Times (a weekly newspaper published in Portland) and managing editor and executive editor of the New York Daily News. He rejoined the Globe as executive editor in 1992 and became editor in 1993.

ASNE activities: He has been a member since 1981. Storin will head the International Committee in the coming year. He has served on the Writing Awards Board and the Convention Program and Change Committees. He has worked as a convention floor manager.

Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE needs to intensify its efforts to become more than just a yearly convention. Through good committees and good communications, I think we should particularly help editors on matters of content improvement, stress management and diversity issues 365 days a year. We should continue to pay special attention to the needs of editors from smaller papers in The American Editor and perhaps through interim reports from appropriate committees on what is happening throughout the industry. Also I think we need to do better by new members. I recall my early days in ASNE when I thought it was run by a tight little club. Perhaps each new member should be matched with a veteran to help him or her get started.

Larry W. Tarleton, Executive Editor, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.

Career: Tarleton began his career in 1965 with The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer as a sports writer, later covering politics as capital bureau chief in Raleigh. After two years at The Miami Herald, he returned to the Observer to become executive sports editor and later government and political editor. He joined the Dallas Times Herald as sports editor in 1976 and later became managing editor and then executive editor. He was named executive editor of the Charleston newspapers in 1988.

ASNE activities: A member of ASNE since 1986, Tarleton has worked on the Convention Program, Bulletin, Membership, and Minorities committees. He has served as a floor manager and election judge.

Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE should help editors in their quest to make newspapers more relevant and indispensable to their readers. We must renew the connection between a newspaper and its readers, making the newspaper an essential part of the readers’ lives. There are many challenges facing our industry today: We must be diligent in the defense of the First Amendment and other Freedom of Information and access issues; we must explore and use new technology to better serve our readers; we must diversify our staffs to better serve our communities; and we must find ways to rebuild readership against fierce competition for time and dollars. The Society should be the leader in helping editors set the highest standards that can help us meet these challenges.

Gil Thelen, Executive Editor, The State, Columbia, S.C.

Career: Thelen has been in his current position at The State since 1990. He began his career in 1960 as a general assignment reporter at The Milwaukee Journal. He moved to the Associated Press and then to Consumer Reports, where he was Washington editor. He subsequently signed on with the Chicago Daily News as a Washington-based reporter. He joined The Charlotte Observer staff as assistant metro editor, progressing to city editor, metro editor and assistant managing editor over a 10-year period. Knight-Ridder moved him to Myrtle Beach, S.C., as editor and executive vice president for news and operations and then to The State.

ASNE activities: Thelen is the current chair of the Change Committee and he will head the Education for Journalism Committee in 1998-99. He has also worked on the Minorities, Future of Newspapers and Human Resources committees and has been a convention floor manager. He joined ASNE in 1990.

Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE must embody the highest professional standards of journalism quality and community service; distinguish for the public the difference between responsible journalism and the pseudo-journalism of exploitation and sensationalism; serve as a clearinghouse for the best new thinking about journalism practice; encourage thoughtful change efforts in newsrooms that strengthen our news content and make us more indispensable for readers; counter the voices of extremists who would intimidate and try to still a free and vigorous press; and forge common ground between editors and marketers.

Mark N. Trahant, Editor and Publisher, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Moscow, Idaho

Career: Trahant attained his current position in 1996. Previously, he was executive news editor of the Salt Lake Tribune in Salt Lake City. Before that, Trahant was publisher and owner of a weekly, The Navajo Nation Today. Earlier, his career took him to the Arizona Republic in Phoenix as a national-desk reporter and previously he converted the weekly Navajo Times into the daily Navajo Times Today.

ASNE activities: A member of ASNE since 1993, Trahant has worked on the Change, Minorities and Convention Program committees. He has also served as a convention floor manager.

Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE should be a rich forum for newspapering and society. We can share passion. We can share ideas, and sometimes, we can offer a vision for the future. I confess. I am already a fan. It was ASNE’s vision for the year 2000 that moved diversity issues away from theory and into practice. At ASNE job fairs, I have watched young people with a mild interest discover how wonderful a career in newspapers can be. I would hope ASNE would continue to enrich us all by moving newspapers, and even democracy, forward on the values that are captured in the First Amendment.

David A. Zeeck, Executive Editor, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.

Career: Zeeck became executive editor of The News Tribune in 1994. Previously, he worked at the Kansas City Star for 20 years, as a reporter, assistant metro editor, metro editor, managing editor and executive editor.

ASNE activities: He joined ASNE in 1990 and has worked on the Bulletin, Convention Program, and Minorities committees. He is the incoming co-chair of The American Editor editorial board.

Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE must focus on two missions: (a) helping us produce newspapers that better serve our communities in a rapidly changing information and business environment and (b) leading the way for better public understanding of the First Amendment and our role in public life. Internally, we must continue to bring new voices to our news pages and our newsrooms and must bring ASNE services and programs to more editors, especially at smaller newspapers. In a time when everyone with a computer and a modem can be a publisher, in an era that blurs news and infotainment, we need a strong ASNE that holds fast to our bedrock traditions, but leads the search for new ways of delivering a meaningful news report to readers.