Inventing Reality: My Editing Experience
The Desert Sun
n Position: Opinion Page Editor
n When: 2005-2006
n Where: Palm Springs, Calif.
n Duties: I headed paper's eight-member editorial board, wrote daily editorials (typically seven a week), oversaw pagination of 1.5 pages Monday through Saturday and 2 pages on Sunday (usually full color four or five times a week), solicited and edited op-ed columns, selected and edited letters to the editor and selected syndicate editorial cartoons. In addition, I organized public forums (usually once a quarter) and regularly conducted public outreach meetings (usually twice a week). I was able to get a number of political candidates to meet with our editorial board, the most prominent being Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
n Awards:
s Public Service - 2nd place (2005), Best of Gannett; contributed set of editorials about a city manager's sweetheart contract deals to broader news coverage submission
s Public Service - 2nd place (Oct.-Dec. 2005), quarterly Gannett Well Done; contributed set of editorials about homelessness in the Coachella Valley to broader news coverage submission
s Commentary - 2nd place (July-Sept. 2005), quarterly Gannett Well Done, for set of editorials about a city manager's sweetheart contract deals