AJC Conversation » Addressing bias issues

A civil conversation

Ken Foskett, Opinion Editor — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 09:26:43 +0000

Ken Foskett, Opinion editor

Justice Clarence Thomas, who I wrote a book about, liked to describe the Supreme Court as a place where people could disagree without being disagreeable. That’s a good description of the AJC’s new Opinion pages.

The Opinion pages are a forum where contributors can speak plainly and passionately, but still hew to the civility that defines the South.

Unlike the news sections of the paper, the Opinion pages are the one place where contributors can broadcast their bias freely. My job is to balance points of view so that many sides of an issue are fairly represented, and publish the best commentary on a wide array of topics.

I moved to Atlanta in 1989 and wrote about the city and region from a variety of perches. I know Atlantans and I know the diversity of this region. We are a community of conservatives, liberals, and most everything in between. What unites metro Atlantans, regardless of political persuasion, is a deep concern for community.

We are …

Greetings from the new public editor

Shawn McIntosh, AJC Public Editor — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:55:19 +0000

Shawn McIntosh, Public editor

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This week I became the AJC’s new public editor. Let me introduce myself and my role.

I’m a career newswoman who has worked at newspapers all over the South. I once worked in a nice office overlooking the Potomac, but my accent just didn’t fit in. Atlanta is my favorite home so far.

I have a passion for news and believe the watchdog role newspapers play is vital to democracy. It is the reason the Founding Fathers protected the independence of a free press. Now that the press has gone digital, and a multi-million-dollar warehouse of steel is not required to publish, audiences have more opportunity than ever to shape journalism. Every connected citizen can contribute to news coverage and participate in community conversation. I …

Share ideas for the AJC’s new conservative columnist

Matt Kempner, Assignment Editor/Business — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:00:02 +0000

The AJC’s new full-time conservative columnist, Kyle Wingfield, is still a few weeks away from writing his first column in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He’s an editorial writer crafting conservative opinions for The Wall Street Journal’s European edition. But he already knows Georgia well. Afterall, he grew up in Dalton, has family here and was a standout student at UGA. He’s got plenty of ideas for columns, but feel free to share your thoughts here about issues Kyle might address that are important in Georgia.

AJC changes

Julia Wallace, Editor — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:20:55 +0000

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Two weeks ago, you heard from our publisher, Doug Franklin, about the economic challenges at this newspaper and newspapers across the country.

Today, it’s my turn. I want to give you more detailed information on the content changes ahead in the next two weeks. I also want to respond to your questions to our publisher about what we are doing to make sure our news and editorial pages are fair and balanced.

The e-mails and letters that Doug received and the constant communication I have with readers reinforce the special relationship we have with readers. We come into your homes and are an important part of your lives. We treasure that connection and the great passion you have for what we do.

We are the most comprehensive and critical source for local news in metro Atlanta. We know that you depend on us for aggressive investigative reporting. We know that you want us …