NYT on AJC, Tucker (& me)
Quoted this morning in the New York Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Editor Julia Wallace takes a not-so-subtle swipe at the AJC’s editorial voice under longtime Editorial Page Editor Cynthia Tucker.
“We have moved to a different kind of editorial that’s much more about community issues and less about, ‘let me opine on national issues,’ ” she said.
That “let me opine on national issues” jab mis-characterizes, by implication, the paper’s voice under Tucker, whom Wallace is transferring to Washington to be a columnist.
One can disagree whether regional papers should or shouldn’t weigh in on the war in Iraq or presidential endorsements. But the AJC editorial board that Wallace plans to deconstruct in May has distinguished itself by staking out positions on local issues, whether they were controversies involving the King family, or the state’s failure to deal with transportation problems, or local political contests. Or the Legislature’s irresponsible approach to the state’s finances. Or the ethical lapses of elected officials in either party.
Going back to the days of Ralph McGill (whose legacy, as the Times correctly notes, has been carried out by Tucker), there was nothing like an AJC editorial to stake out a position that placed pressure on the local powers that be, at least to raise the level of debate in the state and often to get politicians to temper extreme positions.
But a consistently credible institutional voice on a variety of issues takes experience, connections, time and institutional support. It’s difficult to imagine one person who’s lived here for a year and has little editorial-writing experience being able to play that role.
Tucker has spoken enthusiastically of her transfer to Washington, where everyone seems to think her talents will only become more recognized at the national level. In the NYT article, however, does offer a contrast between her philosophy and Wallace. Writer Richard Perez-Pena paraphrases Wallace as saying that she expects the editorial board to avoid “hot-button ideological issues.” Later on, Tucker is quoted as saying “editorial pages ought to draw controversy.”
The article quotes me, in all my brilliance a splendor, but — drats — doesn’t name this blog.
Cynthia Tucker most of the editorial board will be replaced in May, a move that could create a different — and perhaps less liberal — voice for one of the country’s leading regional papers.
“I think they’re trying not to offend,” said Kenneth Edelstein, a blogger and former editor of Creative Loafing, an Atlanta alternative weekly. “It’s definitely a move to the right, and it’s a real change for a paper that was the most important progressive voice in the South for a long time.”
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Comments
7 Comments on NYT on AJC, Tucker (& me)
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wesleywhatwhat on
Mon, 20th Apr 2009 9:49 am
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Andisheh Nouraee on
Mon, 20th Apr 2009 10:10 am
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Is the AJC Making a Move to the Right or a Move to the Local? « Decatur Metro on
Mon, 20th Apr 2009 11:48 am
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jim on
Tue, 21st Apr 2009 7:50 pm
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DaleC on
Thu, 23rd Apr 2009 7:49 am
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AJC’s redesign blues | Atlanta Unsheltered on
Tue, 28th Apr 2009 12:12 pm
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Sunday AJCs do a bit of muckraking | Atlanta Unsheltered on
Tue, 19th May 2009 2:03 pm
the question is quickly becoming – how does julia wallace still draw a paycheck from the ajc?
Live and learn. All this time I thought Ken was short for Kenjamin.
[...] a Move to the Right or a Move to the Local? 20 04 2009 Former Creative Loafing editor – and current blogger – Ken Edelstein is quoted in this morning’s NY Times, in a piece about the future voice of [...]
The only thing she’s deconstructing is the paper. Unfortunately, she’s using nuclear weapons to do it instead of a scalpel.
The AJC can move several steps to the right and still be several steps to the left.
[...] about 2.0. Unfortunately, it’s being implemented on the heals of staff cutbacks and the gutting of the paper’s editorial board, which are likely to make the redesign feel to most readers and advertisers like a [...]
[...] One still-ominous sign for the AJC is that two strong editorials over the last two weeks — Jay Bookman’s on high-speed rail and Maureen Downey’s on dropouts — were produced by really good editorial writers journalists who share deep knowledge about this community and whom the paper plans to remove from the editorial board. I still hope the paper Editor Julia Wallace revisits its her decision to handicap the paper’s own institutional voice. [...]
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