Newspaper writers get the credit for the stories that appear under their bylines. But each story represents the work of a team of editors who nurture the pieces before they are published. I've worked with some extraordinary journalists on the Inquirer's foreign desk: David Zucchino, Nancy Szokan, Paul Nussbaum, Nancy Cooney, Becky Klock, Bob Filarsky, John Brumfield, Bruce Larrick and Nate Hobbs. They've rescued my copy on more than one occasion. Thanks also to the many copy editors whose inventive headlines I have shamelessly appropriated on this site. Over the years I have been privileged to work with some of the finest editors in the business. George Kennedy, Brian Brooks and Daryl Moen inspired me and hundreds of other journalism students at the University of Missouri-Columbia. At the Columbia Daily Tribune, a small paper with an astonishing concentration of talent in the early 1980s, I was fortunate to work with Carolyn White, Jan Winburn and Bill Marr. I went to The Inquirer when it was led by the legendary Gene Roberts, Gene Foreman and Jim Naughton. I am also indebted to the succession of thoughtful Inquirer editors who guided me: Butch Ward, David Taylor, Bob Samsot, Bill Marimow, Tom Frail, Luisita Lopez Torregrosa, Fran Dauth, Ashley Halsey III, Jan Schaffer, Linda Austin and Phil Dixon. I am especially grateful to Max King, who sent me overseas in 1996, and Bob Rosenthal, who thrice has extended my assignment in Africa. A special note of thanks to the Inquirer photographers with whom I had the pleasure of working in Africa: Eric Mencher, Michael Wirtz and Peter Tobia. They've inspired me to improve my own photography. Most important, I'd like to thank my wife, Amy Blackstone, whose story suggestions are always sound and who has tolerated my long absences while I traveled. She has been unwavering in her support and love. |
