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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