Editors elect David A. Zeeck to lead ASNE

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 05/04/2006 10:06:00
• In: ASNE elections

SEATTLE -- David A. Zeeck, executive editor of The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., was elected president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors today and assumed the leadership of the nation's largest and oldest organization of daily newspaper editors.

In his initial speech as the Society's president, Zeeck urged editors to get to work and lead newspaper journalism in times that “are not for the faint hearted.”

“I believe in newspapers and I believe they will last. But I also believe in the Web. Heck, I'm willing to believe in iPods and cell phones. Really what I'm saying is I believe in journalism. I believe in the future of news,” Zeeck said.

“Our choice couldn't be clearer. We can be swept along by a tide of change -- a blizzard of technology, news as a commodity, multiplying competitors, the pressures of Wall Street and limited resources,” Zeeck said. “Or we can take who we are -- experienced journalists, critical thinkers, people of integrity, skilled at asking good questions and analyzing data -- and exert our energies and our talents to craft the best outcomes that we can imagine and deliver.”

“Merely riding the current of change, complaining all the while, is a path that leads only to cynicism and failure. It's seductively self-indulgent, but it's just plain wrong. The alternative is choosing to act. That's leadership. And it's what these times demand,” Zeeck said.

Zeeck succeeds Rick Rodriguez, executive editor of The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, who led ASNE during the past year. Rodriguez will continue as an ex officio member of the board.

Other officers elected were Vice President Gilbert Bailon, editor of Al Día, Dallas; Secretary Charlotte H. Hall, editor of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel; and Treasurer W. Martin Kaiser, editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Seven directors were elected to the ASNE board during the group's convention week, April 25-28 in Seattle.

Newly elected to the board were:

• Andrew N. Alexander, Washington bureau chief, Cox Newspapers.
• Pamela B. Fine, managing editor, The Indianapolis Star.
• Susan Goldberg, executive editor, San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News.
• Kenneth A. Paulson, editor, USA TODAY.

Incumbent members elected:

• Mike Jacobs, editor and publisher, Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald.
• Sharon Rosenhause, managing editor, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale.
• Janet Weaver, executive editor, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune.

In addition to the officers, members continuing on the ASNE board are: Jim Amoss, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans; Caesar Andrews, Detroit Free Press; Susan Bischoff, Houston Chronicle; Milton Coleman, The Washington Post; Christopher Peck, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.; Robert Rivard, San Antonio Express-News; Stanley R. Tiner, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.; and Julia D. Wallace, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

During the coming year, ASNE's work will be organized through 16 committees, its board and the ASNE Foundation.

2006-07 ASNE COMMITTEES

• THE AMERICAN EDITOR: Vicki S. Gowler, The Idaho Statesman, Boise; Mike Jacobs, Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald
• AWARDS BOARD: Rick Rodriguez, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee
• CONVENTION PROGRAM: Jeffrey D. Cohen, Houston Chronicle; Janet S. Weaver, The Tampa Tribune
• CRAFT DEVELOPMENT: David Boardman, The Seattle Times; Susan Goldberg, San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News
• DIVERSITY: Philip R. Currie, Gannett Co. Inc., McLean, Va.
• EDUCATION FOR JOURNALISM: Caesar Andrews, Detroit Free Press
• ETHICS AND VALUES: Stanley R. Tiner, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.
• FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: David L. Westphal, McClatchy Newspapers, Washington; Patrick A. Yack, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville
• HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM: Julia D. Wallace, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• INTERACTIVE MEDIA: Pamela B. Fine, The Indianapolis Star
• INTERNATIONAL: Milton Coleman, The Washington Post
• LEADERSHIP: W. Martin Kaiser, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• MEMBERSHIP: Charlotte H. Hall, Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel
• NOMINATIONS: Sharon Rosenhause, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale
• READERSHIP ISSUES: Gregory L. Moore, The Denver Post
• SMALL NEWSPAPERS: Kathy Spurlock, The News-Star, Monroe, La.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors, with about 750 members, was founded in 1922. It is the largest organization of the main editors of daily newspapers in the Americas.