Some notes from a small-town editor trying to help build a big-time paper:
Be sure to set your clocks back an hour tonight.
Every year at this time, I can't help but think of the snafu we once endured at the Mirror.
And it always brings a smile.
It was in the early 1980s because we were still in the old building on Green Avenue, and we had already converted to a morning paper on Saturdays.
As was our custom, after scrambling to get all the high school football into the paper on a hectic Friday night, we retired to the parking lot next to the Mirror and shared a few laughs. I'm thinking Sid's Lounge must already had last call or we'd have gone there.
When someone mentioned "falling back," Tom Gibb, who laid out Page 1 under the mentorship of Ken Wyland, suddenly had his face filled with terror.
"Whaddaya mean, back?" he raged. "They go forward!"
Um, no, Tom, spring forward, fall BACK!
With that, Gibb ran faster than he ever did in his life (as the catcher on the Mirror softball team, he was known more for his power than his speed) and nearly crashed into the front doors on Green Avenue.
Of course, they were locked.
He then hustled up 10th Street and, with the presses roaring, got the crew's attention long enough to stop while the skybox was quickly fixed.
Thanks to Gibb, who passed away in 2003, we never made that mistake again.
It showed that even the greatest journalists - which Gibb was - could make a big mistake.
Same person, new name
You may have noticed the name of reporter Amanda Gabeletto.
Only her byline is new. She's the former Amanda Clegg.
It's not easy for a woman to give up her name, and Amanda had a couple of options.
"I didn't want to hyphenate it because I didn't think it would fit in one column, and the copy desk would kill me," she said.
And her reaction to seeing her new name in print?
"I saved a copy of the first article for [husband] Jennan's dad," she said.
Disturbing image
I took a call from a reader concerned about a picture we ran of the American flag being burned in an uprising in the Middle East.
The caller felt we shouldn't have run the picture.
Tough call. There are a lot of disturbing images out there, and we try to be selective, but we also feel it's important to report and help educate what's going on in the outside world.
Election season
Please set aside some extra time to digest our two sections previewing the upcoming local elections so you're informed.
They were organized by News Editor Margaret Moses and will appear with Sunday's edition.
No relation
I took another call from someone who was upset at an editorial position we took that, in this case, defended a decision made by Judge Hiram Carpenter.
Our Opinion page is coordinated by Steve Carpenter, and his name is listed on the page. The caller leaped to the conclusion that the two Carpenters are related. They are not.
And if they were, Steve would not be commenting on his alleged Uncle Hiram.
We - and all newspapers - try to avoid those obvious conflicts of interests.
Sometimes it's not always possible in a small town, but we try not to practice journalism with relatives covering each other.
Besides, I don't even think Steve Carpenter is a West Virginia fan.
Mirror Managing Editor Neil Rudel can be reached at 946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.
