Charles Apple

I’ve always wanted to work for Linda Grist-Cunningham, editor of The Register-Star in Rockford, Ill.

She puts out a quality product. My friends who have worked for her — and who work for her still — just gush about her management style, the support she gives her people and how great it is to have her as an editor.

Try as I might, though, I’ve never managed to talk her into hiring me. Or maybe she’s smart enough to not hire me. Whatever.

But then the fine folks running this year’s Society for News Design contest had the brilliant notion to invite her to Syracuse last week as a judge. She served on the long-form judging team.

I was delighted to see her on the panel. We need more judges like her. Hell, we need more editors like her.

This year’s long-form judges, from left to right: Karl
Kuntz, Leslie Plesser, Marek Knap and Linda Grist
Cunningham. Photo by Bill Gaspard.
—

Realizing she was returning to work Tuesday, I was curious to hear what what she thought.

Below is our exchange. I hope you find it interesting.

Q. So how was it? Did you enjoy it?

A. Enjoy might not be the right word. How about these:

* Grueling: Was the most physically and mentally demanding contest I have ever judged.

* Enlightening: U.S. newspapers need some serious lessons in content selection, integration of content and design, and overall use of space. We complain about not having enough newshole, but we sure don’t do a very good job with what we have. Our European and Mexican brothers and sisters run circles around us.

* Precision: The best newspapers pay an inordinate amount of attention to the details.

* Boring: Our newspapers can be dreadfully dull. We know that but we don’t do much about it.

* Decoration: We are moving — thank heaven — away from design as decoration and toward design as communication. Soon will disappear anything that smacks of “just make it look pretty.” (I will cheer the day we don’t have Harry Potter maps as contest entries… OK for readers, but spare the judges… )

* Sports: We have never met a sporting event that could not be turned into posters, special sections and 200-point headlines. If we spent that much time, effort and resources covering news, we’d be a lot more successful industry.

* Not so clueless after all: That’s I. Editor-not-designer that I am, I agreed to judge with a ton of trepidation. Who was I to put chips into red cups and blue cups as though I knew what I were doing? But, I did. I really did. And, with pretty much nary an exception, I was right there with the other four on my team — designers all. And, when I was the odd chip out, I knew exactly why. Usually because I put a bit more weight on content selection than the designers did. (And, I DID write the final mission statement, so I was good for something…. :-)

* Nope: Probably my answer if I were ever asked to do it again. This is a one-time — or once in a decade — gig. And, 10 years from now, I will be putting on flip-flops in Key West.

* Delightful: That’s the best word to describe all those SND member-facilitators who humped from dawn to bar-time with unending humor, energy, enthusiasm and, dare I say it, respectful politeness. What an amazingly efficient machine. I felt as though I were privy to watching and enjoying these delightful people, most of whom are young enough to be my sons, and when all was said and done, I’d happily adopt them all.

Q. Wow. Nicely done. May I quote you?

A. Quote away. All yours.

Thanks, Linda, for sharing your thoughts! And thanks for being a judge this year!

Um… You did vote for my pages, right?

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 14th, 2008 at 11:18 am and is filed under Awards n' stuff, Innovative ideas, News design, Newspapers, SND29, VizEds Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.