Last Updated: May 20, 1999
Printer-friendly version
ASNE on the move
Incumbent nominees are indicated with a *. The nominees for the board
(in random order) are:
Narda C. Zacchino, associate editor, Los Angeles Times
Career: A Los Angeles Times staffer since 1970, Zacchino served
in several positions before her current job as associate editor. She is
a board member of L.A. Youth (a Los Angeles County teen newspaper) and
the International Women’s Media Foundation.
ASNE activities: Zacchino joined ASNE in 1990. She chaired the
Diversity Committee in 1996-97 and has belonged to that committee, formerly
the Minorities Committee, for eight years. In addition to Diversity, she
is currently on the Convention Program Committee and has participated in
the Future of Newspapers, Human Resources, International, and Readership
and Research committees. She is also a member of the Journalism Credibility
Project Think Tank.
Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE should help editors of small and large
newspapers by sharing success stories or “best practices” in such areas
as improving credibility with readers and broadening diversity efforts.
The three-year ASNE credibility study will provide stories of what works
to strengthen trust with readers, and a similar project on how to capitalize
on new media, for instance, could help editors learn from the work that
others have done. Some newspapers have made progress in increasing diversity
in their newsrooms and in their coverage without huge financial resources
or large turnover, and those stories could be reported and disseminated
to ASNE members as well.
*Richard Aregood, editorial page editor, The Star-Ledger, Newark,
N.J.
Career: Before joining the Star-Ledger in 1995, Aregood worked
for the Philadelphia Daily News for nearly 29 years, working his way up
from police reporter to editor of the editorial pages.
ASNE activities: An ASNE member since 1982, Aregood chaired the
Bulletin Editorial Board in 1993-94, and has been a member of that committee,
now The American Editor Committee, for 12 years. He has also participated
in the Convention Program, Ethics and Values, First Amendment, Freedom
of Information, Minorities, Nominations and Prison Journalism committees,
as well as the Writing Awards Board. Aregood served as a floor manager
during the 1995 convention. He has twice won the Distinguished Writing
Award for editorial writing.
Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE is the only forum through which we
can help one another become better editors who can put out better newspapers,
no matter what the economic conditions or industry fads. Only ASNE can
combine all things that make all that possible. We must be able to be a
clearinghouse and forum for everything from the First Amendment (as always,
under attack), to newsroom morale (sullen in most places), to newsroom
diversity (more critical than ever, especially now that we’ve set a deadline
and know how early we need to reach kids who we want to become newspaper
people), access to public information (always in need of a push), training
(usually an early budget cut) and so on. We all know that they are. But
in this era of seismic shift, it becomes more and more important that ASNE
provide us with the means to provide aid and comfort to one another. Nobody
else will. If we can make our society an even more effective reporting
agency that helps us comprehend and deal with market forces, technology
and the usual set of unsolvable editors’ problems, we will have become
better editors and ASNE the most valuable organization since the Continental
Congress.
Douglas C. Clifton, executive editor, The Miami Herald
Career: Clifton has been executive editor of the Herald since
1991. Prior to that, he was managing editor of The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer
and news editor of Knight Ridder’s Washington bureau. He started his career
at the Herald as an Action Line writer. Clifton was in the U.S. Army from
1965 to 1968, serving in Vietnam.
ASNE activities: Clifton joined ASNE in 1991 and is currently
chair of the International Committee. He has also been a member of the
Future of Newspapers and Minorities committees.
Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE should arm editors with the weapons
they need to keep newspapers vibrant, alive and central to the lives of
readers. Newspapers are only as good as their editors. Nurture the editor
and you nurture the newspaper. Everything ASNE does must be directed toward
that goal. Editors should walk away from contact with ASNE feeling renewed,
inspired, smarter, brimming with good ideas, heartened and sustained. Do
that and newspapers will prosper.
Gilbert Bailon, executive editor, The Dallas Morning News
Career: Bailon was named executive editor of the News in 1997,
having previously served in various management roles at the newspaper since
joining it in 1986. Prior to working in Dallas, Bailon was a reporter for
the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, the Los Angeles Daily News, The San
Diego Union and The Kansas City (Mo.) Star. He is a past president of the
National Association of Hispanic Journalists and serves on the board of
Unity ’99.
ASNE activities: Bailon became a member of the Society in 1994.
He is the 1998-99 chair of the Diversity Committee having been a member
of that committee for five years. He has also participated in the Journalism
Credibility Project Think Tank for the past two years. Bailon is currently
a member of the Writing Awards Board and has been a member of the Convention
Program Committee. He was also a floor manager during two conventions.
Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE has been the steward of journalistic
principles and innovations for many years. With so many pressures on the
industry from new media to declining readership and public credibility,
those tenets must continue to be fundamental. But I also believe that ASNE
must become the convener of many journalism and academic associations to
help recruit and train future newspaper professionals earlier than near
college graduation. Underlying the critical need for new talent is the
need for a much more diverse work force, which will become even more essential
as the U.S. demographics continue to change. Feeding the talent pipeline
should become as vital as sustaining values and credibility amid the torrent
of new forms of media.
Jane Amari, executive editor, The News Journal, Wilmington, Del.
Career: Amari has been executive editor of The News Journal since
1997. Prior to that, she was senior vice president of The Kansas City (Mo.)
Star, where she had previously been managing editor.
Amari also served as managing editor of the Los Angeles Daily News and
the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star. During 32 years in the newspaper industry,
she has held management positions with Times Mirror, Knight Ridder and
The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. She is currently president of the
Newspaper Features Council.
ASNE activities: Vice chair of the 1998-99 New Media Committee,
Amari will chair the committee under its new name, Interactive Media, in
1999-2000. She is also currently a member of the Convention Program and
Readership Issues committees, and has been a member of the Literacy, Future
of Newspapers, Minorities, Membership and Change committees. In addition,
she was a member of the Education for Journalism Committee from 1989 to
1993. Amari joined ASNE in 1988.
Aspirations for ASNE: No matter how well we tell our stories,
if our readers desert us, we have accomplished nothing. ASNE’s ongoing
studies of readership and credibility are critical to helping us satisfy
the expectations of our readers. Those readers are part of an ever more
diverse world. The less newspapers look like potential readers, the less
likely we are to be able to communicate with them effectively. ASNE must
continue to set and strive for ambitious diversity goals. And finally,
we need to turn the creative thinking that often guides our newsrooms to
new products and new ways to remain the best source of information for
our readers.
Kenneth F. Bunting, managing editor, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Career: As the P-I’s managing editor since 1993, Bunting has
responsibility for the newspaper’s news, sports, features, photo, graphics
and layout departments. He also serves on the executive committee of the
newspaper. Before coming to Seattle, Bunting worked in various managerial
positions at the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram. During nearly 30 years
as a newspaper journalist, he has also worked for the Los Angeles Times,
the San Antonio Express-News, The Cincinnati Post, The Sacramento (Calif.)
Bee and the Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times.
ASNE activities: Vice chair of the 1998-99 Education for Journalism
Committee, Bunting will chair the committee in 1999-2000. He is also currently
on the Convention Program Committee, was a floor manager during
the 1997 convention and served as an election judge in 1998. Since joining
ASNE in 1994, Bunting has also belonged to the Ethics and Minorities committees.
Aspirations for ASNE: In the aftermath of the Clinton investigation
and impeachment crisis, the credibility and utility of newspapers must
be paramount concerns for our industry and for ASNE. This story of major
historical significance broke on an Internet gossip page and was fueled
to a fare-thee-well by television talk jockeys. Its genesis and ongoing
treatment epitomizes our modern role, one in which the daily newspaper
is only one, among many, sources of information.
Without focus, and careful attention to what we do and how well we do
it, newspapers (and traditional television news programs) could very well
become secondary sources for news consumers. We must not let that happen.
As the premier organization of the industry’s content leaders, ASNE
must help us maintain that focus and understand the changing landscape.
Our imperative is to make certain newspapers are the vital news and information
source for our readers. The products we deliver must be useful, reliable,
fair, and relevant to those who want to enjoy life, cope with everyday
problems and be good citizens in a democratic society. We must be the alternative
that makes sense of senselessness and brings a balanced perspective in
an environment in which every tidbit of information, real or imagined,
gets an airing.
ASNE should help us live up to our historical role, while also being
a leading force for certain and necessary change.
Mary Jo Meisner, editor, Community Newspaper Co., Needham, Mass.
Career: Since 1997, Meisner has overseen editorial operations
at New England’s largest newspaper publisher, with 120 daily and weekly
newspapers under its umbrella. Prior to that, she was editor and senior
vice president of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and supervised the merger
of the Journal and the Sentinel; she had been the editor of the Journal
prior to that. Earlier, Meisner worked at the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram,
The Washington Post, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, the Philadelphia
Daily News and The News Journal of Wilmington, Del.
ASNE activities: Meisner joined ASNE in 1992. She chaired The
Writing Awards Board in 1996-97, is currently a member of the Convention
Program and Membership committees and has participated in the Minorities,
Readership and Research and Small Newspapers committees. In addition, she
served as a floor manager during the 1993 convention.
Aspirations for ASNE: As it enters the millennium year, ASNE
has the heritage, talent and resources to go forth boldly and confidently
to meet the challenges confronting our profession. They are many:
-
A growing number of readers who distrust our work and question our values.
-
A rapidly changing media landscape that threatens to marginalize our industry.
-
A persistent inability to more fully diversify our ranks and our coverage.
ASNE can help editors succeed by embracing the changes wrought by new media
and applying our high standards to these new forms of information delivery;
by redoubling our efforts to change the face of our newsroom staffs and
the fabric of our news pages; and by solidifying our commitment to news
with programs, ideas and resources that help editors keep their focus on
the one arena where readers want and expect us to lead the most — their
local communities — and where our credibility must be renewed.
Frank M. Denton, editor, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wis.
Career: Denton has been editor of the Wisconsin State Journal
for 13 years. During the previous 10 years, he held a variety of editing
positions at the Detroit Free Press, culminating as assistant managing
editor for news. Earlier in his 35-year career, he was a reporter for the
Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, The Anniston (Ala.) Star and The Cincinnati
Enquirer. He was a founding director of New Directions for News and now
is a director of the Mid America Press Institute.
ASNE activities: Currently chair of the 1998-99 Readership Issues
Committee, Denton will resume that role under the committee’s new name,
Coverage and Content, for the 1999-2000 year. An ASNE member since 1986,
he has also chaired the Literacy Committee and been a member of the Future
of Newspapers and Readership and Research committees.
Aspirations for ASNE: With all of the pressures on newspapers
and newspaper journalism, ASNE should be a major force in maintaining,
and enhancing, the values, standards and ambitions of our free press. In
adapting to new realities of lifestyle and technology, we have to work
harder to be sure newspapers are an important part of the lives of our
readers and our communities. The newspaper industry, and many people in
the larger society, now are realizing the deep value of our journalism,
and we must seize the opportunity for national leadership in democracy-
and community-building. The convention can be valuable for sharing ideas
and successes and discussing the great issues we face, and year-round,
ASNE should contribute important work on credibility, readership, diversity
and freedom of information.
Susan C. Deans, editor, The Sun-News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Career: Deans has been in her current position since 1990, and
has been with the Sun-News since 1987, first serving as managing editor.
Prior to that, she worked in various positions at the Daily Camera in Boulder,
Colo. She has served on the APME board of directors.
ASNE activities: Deans is currently a member of the Readership
Issues Committee. She has also participated in the Change, Convention Program,
Membership, New Media and Small Newspapers committees. Deans served as
a floor manager at the 1996 convention. She joined ASNE in 1990.
Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE is moving us in a positive direction
and I am grateful for that. The recent work on credibility is outstanding
and has remotivated many of us to take charge of our newsrooms again and
make sure the product we produce represents the highest ideals of journalism.
A couple of years ago, Dr. Joyce Brothers told ASNE members at a panel
that we ought to feel pretty proud of who we are, that from where she sits,
being the editor of a newspaper is an honorable and respected occupation.
I would like ASNE to help us keep focused on that thought. No more dinosaur
talk, no more whining.
We must always look at what we do in a critical way — as we are doing
this year with credibility — but we must also stay focused on what we as
editors can do for our readers and our communities through producing outstanding
journalism. As Dr. Brothers said to us in 1997, “You’re doing just exactly
what people do need or you wouldn’t exist.” We know that we sometimes fall
short of that trust and we are working to do it better. We need ASNE to
continue leading us in that direction.
Hunter T. George, executive editor, The Birmingham (Ala.) News
Career: George was named executive editor of The Birmingham (Ala.)
News in 1998. Prior to that, he was managing editor of The Ledger in Lakeland,
Fla., and director of editorial development for Thomson Newspapers in Toronto.
A journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he has also worked
at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. and The Miami Herald.
ASNE activities: A member since 1991, George has chaired the
Membership and Small Newspapers committees. He has also been a member of
the Convention Program and Newspaper Content committees and served as a
convention floor manager.
Aspirations for ASNE: I like the practical emphasis that ASNE
has shown in recent years, particularly in the areas of readership and
newspaper management. ASNE will always be a voice for standards and press
freedom, but it should pay considerable attention to the everyday concerns
of editors in newsrooms large and small. With every ASNE project, we should
ask ourselves: How will this help the newsroom?
Earl R. Maucker, editor, Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Career: Maucker has been editor of the Sun-Sentinel since 1994,
where he had previously served as managing editor. He originally came to
Florida as managing editor of the Fort Lauderdale News, having previously
worked at the Springfield (Mo.) Daily News and Rockford (Ill.) Morning
Star. He began his newspaper career as an apprentice printer with The Telegraph
in Alton, Ill. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966 to 1969 in Okinawa,
Japan.
ASNE activities: Having been a past member of the Convention
Program Committee, Maucker is scheduled to co-chair the committee for the
2001 convention. He will also co-chair The American Editor Committee during
1999-2000 and has been a member of the Ethics, Human Resources, International
and New Media and Values committees. Maucker joined ASNE in 1985.
Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE should provide the vision and sense
of purpose for newspaper editors struggling to position themselves and
their newspapers for the future. ASNE will need to direct more of its energies
toward a broader approach to multimedia, and a more complete understanding
of the technologies that are radically changing our business. But, ASNE
must never lose sight of its fundamental purpose, which is to serve as
a beacon for journalistic principles and core values of integrity, honesty,
and diversity.
*David 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 (Mo.) Star for 20 years
in various positions, culminating in executive editor. He was a founding
board member of New Directions for News.
ASNE activities: Zeeck co-chaired The American Editor Committee
in 1997-98 and will chair the Partnership and Diversification Committee
in 1999-2000. He is currently a member of the Convention Program Committee
and has participated in the Membership and Minorities committees. He served
as a convention floor manager and, during the 1997 and 1998 conventions,
headed ASNE’s press room. Zeeck joined ASNE in 1990.
Aspirations for ASNE: ASNE must:
-
Help us produce newspapers that better serve our communities in a rapidly
changing information and business environment.
-
Lead the way for better public understanding of the First Amendment and
our role in public life
Our newsrooms must bring new voices to our news pages and ASNE must serve
editors in more and in different ways, 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.
Stanley R. Tiner, editor, Mobile (Ala.) Register
Career: Tiner has been in the newspaper business almost all of
his life. He got his start as a first-grade correspondent for the Cotton
Valley (La.) Wildcat. He was combat correspondent for the U.S. Marines
in Vietnam in 1965-66. He has been an editor for newspapers in Texarkana,
Texas; Minden, La.; and Shreveport, La. He has edited the Register since
1992.
ASNE activities: A longtime floor manager, he has served on The
American Editor; Convention Program; International; Membership; and Press,
Bar committees. He chaired the Freedom of Information Committee in
1997-98. Tiner first became a member of ASNE in 1975.
Aspirations for ASNE: Develop a larger pair of ears for the organization,
allowing ASNE to better respond to the many voices of its members. Let
the organization be more driven from the bottom than the top. Goal No.
1: Have an annual session where business is conducted before the full membership,
where individual members can raise issues and be heard on matters of concern.
ASNE has come a long way toward democracy over the nearly 25 years since
I first became a member, but this would take us farther down that road.
*Rick Rodriguez, executive editor, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee
Career: Rodriguez was named to his current position in 1998 after
serving five years as managing editor of the Bee. He joined the paper in
1982 as a reporter in the Capitol bureau. He has worked at the Bee as an
editorial writer, deputy Capitol bureau chief, assistant managing editor
and columnist. He previously worked at The Fresno (Calif.) Bee and The
Californian in Salinas as a reporter.
ASNE activities: ASNE board of directors, 1997 to present; chair
of the Diversity Committee (1997-98); vice chair of Diversity Committee
(1996-97) ; and incoming vice chair of the International Committee. Floor
manager chair, 1997 convention. Member of Management and Human Resources,
Change, Convention Program and Nominations committees. Member since
1993.
Aspirations for ASNE: Our industry is about people. We need to
invest in them and nurture them. We need to be the leading voice for quality
journalism, competitive salaries and innovative ways of communicating with
our readers.
We need to continue to help diversify our newsrooms and news pages.
As Diversity chair, I helped establish a program to provide a link between
high schools and newsrooms and a pilot program for cooperative internships
between a small daily and a minority journalism organization. And I helped
get the issue of diversity back on the front burner by organizing the first
“Diversity Dialogue.”
We must continue to be passionate about our business. ASNE’s continuing
focus on credibility is essential — it’s the foundation of our business.
We must adapt to a changing marketplace but at the same time be forceful
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.
