A rousing call to arms for editors

I call your attention to a rousing call to arms for editors from Bob Baker's excellent �Newsthinking� web site. We don't have to look hard for bad news about the newspaper industry. I remain optimistic and believe we will be around a long time (even if we don't keep killing trees to make our product). But even if we are doomed, Bob says, let's go down like they did at the Alamo: �you fight as hard as you can as long as you can.� It gave me a lift. I hope you enjoy it: http://www.newsthinking.com/story.cfm?SID=226

Thanks to all who offered to help the editor who wrote me seeking a mentor. I matched three mentoring pairs and will report to you later about how that's going. I also heard from a friend who does some professional coaching for editors. If you're interested in that kind of help (and in paying for it), you can contact Rich Somerville at r-somerville@mediaforesight.org

My current �Training Tracks� column also addresses an issue of newsroom leadership: raising standards of verification, which are all too lax at too many papers: http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/content/7287.cfm

I also encourage you to read the plug that follows my signature, about an approaching deadline for a 2-for-1 opportunity on two API seminars that I believe will be excellent (OK, I'm in charge of one of them).