Where credit is due

Headline writing is a thankless task. Bad headlines raise the hackles of readers and editors and stand out like a sore thumb. Good headlines, on the other hand, typically go unnoticed.

This morning’s page one headline - Cat mutilator is a real beast - was one of those gems that actually earned props at the meeting table this morning.

“I woke up and was envious that I didn’t write that,” said assistant city editor David Wasson.

Different strokes for different folks

This morning’s story about Mike McGavick’s DUI arrest ran on page B2 in the S-R, but was front-page news for the Seattle Times. Steve Smith said that, apart from the DUI arrest, McGavick had already discussed many of these issues.

Political reporter Jim Camden said it seemed unlikely that McGavick was heading off a newspaper report by discussing the arrest. Records of the event would be scarce, because the charge was dismissed after a probationary period. “It sounds like it would be pretty hard to find,” he said.