One day while I was editor of the Chicago Tribune two particularly noteworthy people died: entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. and puppeteer Jim Henson. The question that evening was whether either or both obituaries belonged on the front page of the paper, and the editors had the kind of spirited debate about this issue that should be a journalist's joy. Some argued that neither story belonged on the front page, reflecting a narrow view of the newsworthiness of obituaries that I was trying to change. There was some sentiment for putting Sammy Davis Jr. alone on page one and Jim Henson on the obit page in recognition that Davis was the first black entertainer to present himself publicly as the social equal of white entertainers (though the "Rat Pack" with which he ran -- Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford -- was of dubious stature). Others argued that Henson alone belonged on page one because by creating Sesame Street he fundamentally changed the most important educational force in contemporary life -- television. This made him a figure of vast influence, it w argued, well beyond mere celebrity or symbolism. . . .

After hearing all the discussions I decided to put the Henson obituary on page one along with a good-sized photo of Davis and a line indicating that the story of his death could be found on the obituary page.

You will probably not be surprised to learn that this judgment was not universally recognized as Solomonic. . . . The prevailing view seemed to be that the paper should have treated the two stories equally, that anything less showed that the newspaper lacked respect for African-American culture.

I was ready to admit that I might have wrongly decided the issue for one reason or another (including, I suppose, a blindness owing to my race). . . . What I refused to concede, though, was that absolute equality of treatment of these two stories represented journalistic virtue. . . .

I do not know that the conversations I had about this issue changed anybody's mind about the adequacy of my decision on the play of the obits. But they did open my mind to the recognition that I had probably undervalued the impact Sammy Davis Jr.'s success in the white entertainment world had on the black community. At the same time, I hope I got my message across. As we embrace a greater variety of experiences and attempt to speak to people from more diverse backgrounds, we have an obligation to state clearly what we think is true and what we think is most important. . . .

It becomes more difficult to reach these conclusions as we become more diverse because we need to discuss assumptions we previously took for granted. And getting those discussions to work isn't simple, either. We have to create the conditions in which candid conversations can take place. But greater diversity should permit us to make the judgments better, once we work through the difficulties. It should permit us to be even more authoritative, coherent, and confident in the statements we make about matters of value.

cjr  |  archive  |  resources  |  contact  |  search  |  subscribe