Thinking about Washington

I didn't do any kind of comprehensive survey, but cruising through your websites last week indicated that our Washington bureau integration and assumption of the former KRT duties have worked pretty well.

Tom Lasseter from Iraq was on the front of Mod Bee (and doubtless many others) on Sunday. Anchorage and Sacramento both used the China-Tibet railroad on A-1. Our Gitmo mainbar was the lead in Minneapolis and Miami. Lesley Clark's regional on offshore drilling was splashed across the top of A-1 in Bradenton and a David Whitney piece on drilling in California was the local lead in the Tribune in SLO. Henderson's SCOTUS overview was on the front in Macon. Mark Vasche's column and the lead edit in the Centre Daily Times Sunday both talked about improvements in Washington and foreign coverage and how excited they are about the new bureau.

Our Washington operation will be the focus of a great deal of attention in coming weeks. In some ways, it's the most visible, highest profile illustration of how the entire McClatchy/KRI integration is working. Our judgments about journalism will be noted, and no doubt critiqued. People will be watching especially closely to the jobs we fill, the assignments we change, and whatever else may come.

And, of course, there's a pretty tough bunch of critics here in the family. Our overarching objective for Washington is that it make your news products better: in print and online, wholesale and retail, at home and abroad. You're the customers who matter most.

If the bureau and MCT are delivering what you want and need, for God's sake use them. And if they're not, tell David, John and Jane what your concerns are. Maybe what you're after is a key we can use to make everything better; maybe you're wrong and we need to start that discussion instead. In either case, we won't know until we start the conversation.

And as Casey Stengel used to say, include me in. We're spending a great deal of money and energy to get this right. It's my job to make sure we do.

– Howard Weaver