Last Updated: November 09, 1999
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An American Editor
Birthday: Dec. 27, 1945
Hometown: Born in White Plains, N.Y., but consider La Jolla,
Calif., where I have lived most of my life, my hometown.
Marital status: Single
Children: Six godchildren
Self-portrait: Adventurous, tenacious, passionate, intuitive,
demanding (I expect a lot of myself and those around me), loves to laugh,
cares about people.
Newsroom mission: To be the best regional newspaper in the country.
Inspiration: My great-grandfather, Col. Milton A. McRae, co-founder
of Scripps-McRae (now Scripps-Howard)
Greatest feat: Headed up the merger of the Union and the Tribune;
a close second: catching a marlin off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico.
Bad habit: Workaholic
Pet peeve: Fair-weather fans
Best enterprise story: For me — finding John Ehrlichman after
Watergate, hiding out in Santa Fe, N.M. For the paper — a tie between the
Republican Convention in 1996 and the Heaven’s Gate cult’s mass suicide.
Best interview and why: Rose Kennedy, my very first interview.
She put me at ease — and even took the notes for me because my hand was
shaking so badly — and helped me to realize at a young age that even very
famous people were just people.
My newspaper’s strength: Integrated story-telling
Most admired editors: Gene Roberts and Larry Jinks
Most admired writer: Ernest Hemingway
Favorite publication: The New Yorker
Favorite comic: “The Far Side”
Favorite columnist: Ellen Goodman
Best part of job: The adrenaline rush and the newsroom’s collaborative
spirit covering a big story.
Worst part of job: The paperwork and not being able to be all
things to all people.
Vacation spot: St. Paul de Vence, France
TV program: Any Padres baseball game
Books at bedside: “Modern Times” by Paul Johnson and “Gifts from
the Sea” by Anne Lindbergh
Last words: “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
