Last Updated: May 26, 1999
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An American Editor
Fredericksburg, Va., editor stays put — a rarity
Edward W. Jones is from Fredericksburg, he lives there
and he edits his hometown paper; while family ownership may explain some
of the stability, his character explains the rest
By George Benge
Ed Jones has been managing editor of the same family-owned newspaper,
The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg, Va., for nine years. He started
working for the newspaper 32 years ago as a high school intern.
Returning from college and law school, Jones worked at the Free Lance-Star
as reporter, film critic and, for 10 years, as editor of the editorial
page. He also did broadcast work for the newspaper.
A native Virginian, Jones worked in various part-time roles until going
to Harvard, where he graduated in 1970. He earned a law degree from the
University of Virginia in 1973 before returning to journalism and the Free
Lance-Star.
In ASNE, Jones has been active on the Literacy, Small Newspaper and
Change committees and has worked as a convention floor manager. He is chair
of the 1998 Convention Program Committee. He was elected to the ASNE board
at the convention in April.
Q. To what do you attribute your longevity at one newspaper?
A. There are several factors. One is family ownership with deep roots
in the community. This has allowed us to practice community journalism
at its best.
Another is an ownership that is committed to plowing resources back
into the newspaper. That includes salaries that are above average for the
industry. Personally, it has meant for me the opportunity to grow as a
journalist, through challenging assignments and through leadership roles
in professional organizations.
A third factor is a commitment to hard-nosed, aggressive, fair journalism.
Q. Is this something unique that you have found at the Free Lance-Star?
A. It is my hometown newspaper. I can cite you some factors that for
a 47,000 circulation paper might make us unique. One is that 38 percent
of our full-time newsroom employees have been here more than 20 years.
And 76 percent have been here more than 10 years.
Q. How does that make a difference for you?
A. It gives us this connectedness that so many of us are talking about
these days. It means we don’t have to resort to gimmicks to talk to our
readers because of our long relationship within our community. The bottom
line for me is I would like to see more papers of this size look at themselves
as destination points for journalists rather than stepping stones.
Q. Is it common to view newspapers under 50,000 circulation as stepping
stones?
A. I think there is too much movement in our business. There is so much
focus on climbing the ladder that smaller papers lose the opportunity to
challenge experienced journalists and to continue growing in the community.
Q. Are your readers affirming this?
A. I think so. We have not done as many formal reader conversations
as many papers have, but in the conversations we have had and the surveys
we have done, many of our readers speak of the Free Lance-Star as their
newspaper. They feel a sense of ownership.
Q. Specifically, what are they saying to you?
A. They are talking about the paper as ‘‘my newspaper.’’ They are affirming
for us the importance of covering neighborhood and local news.
Q. What factors make the Free Lance-Star a distinctive community
newspaper?
A. The first is the topic we’ve covered, making the newspaper a destination
point for journalists. And what goes with that, of course, is having many
years in the community. And those roots come not just from the newsroom.
They come from advertising and production. We have the same kind of longevity
there.
The second point that makes us distinctive is we are a traditional newspaper,
in a very positive sense. By that I mean there are many fads in the business
these days. At least I would describe them as fads. We don’t tend to jump
at these fads as quickly as many of these other newspapers.
Q. What are some of these fads?
A. There are aspects of public journalism that I would put in the fad
category. You can easily overdo the reader conversations as a way to determine
the content of the paper. We try to be sensitive to our readers while retaining
our news judgment. We are doing more surveying and more formal conversations
than we used to, but by today’s standards not as much as others are doing.
We are relying on more informal contacts to keep us in touch with the community.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. Three things. One is continuing to focus on the basics of journalism:
watchdog journalism and public service journalism. These are the basics
that came out of ASNE’s Journalism Values Institute. We need to make sure
we are as fully committed to these goals as we used to be.
Second is protecting and enhancing our credibility. I think this is
a key issue for journalism these days. Much of the problem deals with the
way we frame issues in our stories, which can lead to perceptions of bias.
And a third goal is continuing the education that gives our staff the
expertise they need to report on issues that are becoming more and more
complicated. One example would be health-care issues. So those would be
three priorities for me.
Q. In pursuing these objectives, how are you dealing with the problem
of resources?
A. The beat structure is one way of allocating limited resources to
priority topics for coverage. We have a fairly traditional beat structure,
focusing on local government, enterprise stories, in-depth stories. Another
is we try to accomplish these goals through communication within the newsroom.
That’s a management issue.
For example, recently, 15 newsroom staff members — reporters, editors
and photographers — went on an overnight retreat about 50 miles out of
town to not only set goals but to talk about why we got into the business.
It really turned out to be interesting. We really learned a lot about each
other we didn’t know. We had never had a formal session where we each stepped
back and talked about why we were in this business.
And today, we are having a staff meeting where all 53 members of the
newsroom will become part of this goal-setting process and maybe even part
of the reflection on why we are in the business.
Q. Did you find out why you are still in the business after 32 years?
A. The flame has not been snuffed out. I’m really here now for the same
reasons as before, which I would characterize as public service. For people
to operate effectively in our society, they need what we can give them.
Q. How much has your law background been a factor in your journalism
career?
A. It has helped in two ways. It has allowed me to be ahead of the curve
on issues relating to freedom of information and open government. And,
in a broader sense, legal training has helped me understand and deal with
many of the complex newsroom issues all editors face.
Q. Could you give an example?
A. A lot applied directly to me when I was editorial page director,
but also, for example, for sorting out issues in a campaign, digging into
position papers on any number of topics. One example I recall is digging
into the topic of utility regulation in Virginia: How is it done now? How
might it he improved? The legal training was very helpful in analyzing
those issues.
Q. Would you recommend training for journalists in other fields?
Absolutely. It doesn’t have to be law, of course. It could be the academic
study of government, or political science or English. I look for strengths
in those areas.
Q. You stated that the paper is very successful in a traditional
sense. How are you ensuring that the newspaper stays current in areas such
as diversity, technology and other new media areas?
A. There are several answers. On technology, we are blessed with the
technical people in our company that are ahead of the curve. We have a
pagination system involving art, text, advertisements — everything. We
have superior reproduction for art. So, technically, we feel that we are
in the forefront.
On diversity, we, like most newspapers still have a way to go. But our
summer internship program is focused exclusively on minority journalists.
A few other things to make sure we are not so traditional that we are
behind the times: We are much more interactive than we used to be. I write
a managing editor’s column about the newspaper. We ask readers for their
opinions on various changes we make in the newspaper.
And, finally, in content decisions, we are focusing much more on relationships
than we used to. Everything from parenting to places for young marrieds
to go and focusing on family-type issues.
Q. Your title is managing editor, but you have broad responsibilities
for managing both the news pages and the editorial pages. You work for
a privately owned newspaper. How does this process work, and how does it
work to the advantage of your readers?
A. I should point out that it’s important not to get hung up on the
title of managing editor. We believe very strongly in the division between
news and opinion. It is part and parcel of our credibility. But in every
shop there is a position where that overall responsibility comes together.
In ours, that is me. The way it works is I have two AMEs who are valuable
in helping me manage the news side and to set goals and priorities.
Q. Do you report to the publisher?
A. To the editor/co-publisher on the editorial side, I give wide latitude
to our editorial page editor in setting goals for that page.
Q. Do you find it difficult to "turn loose" of the editorial page
since for years you were editorial page editor?
A. My experience as editorial page editor has helped me understand the
importance of having an editorial page editor who can set agenda. Though
I do help determine editorial policy, as the person who presides at our
editorial board meetings, I more often perform as a sounding board on key
issues, like endorsements, I collaborate with the editorial staff on what
position to take. The final decision belongs to the editor/co-publisher.
Q. How would you describe the philosophy of your editorial page?
A. In terms of reader perceptions, I think we are perceived as a liberal
editorial page. We like to think of ourselves as independent thinkers.
Most people remember political endorsements when they try to characterize
an editorial page. By that criterion, we tend to endorse more liberals
than conservatives.
Q. What else has been unique about your career?
A. One great benefit I’ve had in working at this paper has been the
support of my boss in participating in journalism organizations. ... I
served as president of the National Conference of Editorial Writers and
now am taking a leadership role on the ASNE convention for 1998. I’m also
president-elect of the Virginia Press Association. So the plate is full,
but they have all been valuable experiences.
Benge is executive editor of the Journal and Courier, Lafayette,
Ind.
