The American Editor, July-August 1997

Table of Contents

A note from the President

• Credibility watch: Think twice before covering the pack, by Sandy Rowe

Stories from the McVeigh verdict

• Stories from the McVeigh verdict, A Wire Content Committee report, by Peter G. Johnson

• How the committee worked, by Peter G. Johnson

• Top rated stories from the McVeigh trial, by Peter G. Johnson

• Times writer immersed herself in story, by Rick Farrant

Free-Lancing

• A good rejection letter is hard to find, Perhaps witty responses would help newspaper editors choose their words more carefully when crafting the letter that says 'no', by Peter A. Ulin

On printing bad news

• Some news is painful to print; so why do it?, A painful memory perhaps explains best why we put bad news in the paper: So people will know what happened, by Denny Bonavita

On diversity

• An essential part of 'our culture', Accepting diversity in the newsroom helps us in the communities we serve; we also must be sure that no group[ is excluded from coverage, by Gregory Favre

• Pondering diversity as 2000 approaches, As the target date for parity in minority newsroom employment nears, ASNE is prompted to re-examine its diversity goals, by Loren Ghiglione

Language

• We need to watch our language, Pet peeves in spoken English that should never creep onto our pages (and if they do, those retired English teachers will tell us), by Tom Walton

A perspective on online news

• Reader-driven marketing in the electronic era, Letting readers target news they're interested in may keep them coming to newspaper sites; journalist-driven content is seen by many as elitist in nature, by David Demers

• Serendipity lost when news is filtered for you, Think of the stories that you've read recently that an Internet news filter would have never let through; that's the weakness of online news now, by Dennis Hetzel

Newsrooms

• In-House survey could reveal a great deal, ASNE study reveals a poor outlook by today's journalists; editors could learn about their newsroom's attitudes by asking them, by Wallace Allen

An American Editor

• Editor's travels have helped him prevail in Dallas, The Dallas Morning News' rise under editor Ralph Langer has come by continuing to cover the news like it's in a newspaper war - even though its chief rival is gone, by Gene Foreman

• About The Dallas Morning News, by Gene Foreman

• Ralph Langer, by Gene Foreman

The Write Stuff

• Creative headlines are this editor's hallmark, by Brian Cooper

• Len Howell, by Brian Cooper

Good writing

• Creating quiet corners in a noisy profession, A ritual, a phone to the ear, a stroll around the newsroom can help center writer, improve stories, by Don Fry

What would you do?

• When to publish juvenile suspects' names, by Lorraine Branham

Book review

• 'Companion" is no place like our home, This collection of writing essays may score with the literacy set, but it ignores the realities of daily journalism, by Jack Hart

ASNE on the move

• ASNE launches journalism credibility initiative

• Keeping up with FOI in the Congress

• In other legal matters . . .

• ASNE praises Supreme Court decision, mourns Justice Brennan

• Turkey responds to protest

• Change tab being reprinted

• ASNE people

• Other ASNE people . . .

• Death

• Calendar