Last Updated: May 26, 1999
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Jerry Ceppos
Executive editor and senior vice president, San Jose (Calif.)
Mercury News
Birthday: Oct. 14, 1946
Hometown: Washington, D.C.; grew up in Silver Spring, Md.
Marital status: Married to Karen 15 years
Children: Matthew, 8, and Robin, 6
Self-portrait: Intense, sense of humor, team-builder, perfectionist.
Pet peeve: Missed opportunities for making the newspaper great.
My newspaper's strengths: The ability to set clear goals as a
team. For example, we are on the way to achieving our goal of covering
technology better than any other daily newspaper--and also covering the
texture and fabric of this very unusual place called Silicon Valley--because
every staff member knows that those are goals.
Favorite comic: "Dilbert," the ultimate Silicon Valley comic
strip.
Best part of job: Leading a group of very talented people as
they set very specific goals for the Mercury News.
Worst part of job: Doing too many things almost, but not quite,
well enough.
Vacation spot: Mendocino, California
Luxury defined: A good spy or courtroom novel, a grand California
zinfandel and Keith Jarrett on the stereo.
Most admired writer: Robert Ruark, the late Washington reporter
and columnist, whose novels don't get nearly enough attention today.
Books at bedside: "Personal History," by Katharine Graham, and
"The Laws of Our Fathers," by Scott Turow.
